# Presentation: 497775

## Detection of the signatures and environments of life on Earth and other planetary bodies from their organic and mineralogical records

**Detection of the signatures and environments of life on Earth and other planetary bodies from their organic and mineralogical records**

**University of Wisconsin - Madison**
**Jet Propulsion Laboratory**
**University of Georgia**

## Major focus on isotopic biosignatures

**Isotopic compositions of C****org**** delivery and degradation**
**Isotopic and chemical compositions of oxides, sulfides, sulfates, and carbonates**
**Emphasis on the mineralogical record left by life **
***In situ***** isotopic compositions on other planetary bodies**

## Research Team

**PI: Clark Johnson**
**Co-I’s:**
**Brian Beard**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Max Coleman**** (JPL)**
**Pascale Ehrenfreund**** (JPL)**
**Eric Roden**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Christopher Romanek**** (Univ. ****	****GA/SREL)**
**Nita Sahai**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Mahadeva Sinha**** (JPL)**
**John Valley**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Huifang Xu**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Collaborators:**
**Nic Beukes**** (University of ****	****Johannesburg)**
**Laurent Binet**** (Ecole Nationale ****	****Supérieure de Chimie de ****	****Paris)**
**Marjorie Chan**** (University of ****	****Utah)**

**Collaborators - Cont:**
**Sylvie Derenne**** (Ecole ****	****Nationale Supérieure de ****	****Chimie de Paris)**
**Noriko Kita**** (U.W. Madison)**
**Kase Klein**** (University of ****	****New Mexico)**
**Craig Marshall**** (Sydney ****	****University)**
**Stephen Moorbath**** (Oxford ****	****University)**
**Hiroshi Ohmoto**** (Penn State ****	****University)**
**Javier Sanchez**** (Spanish ****	****Geological Survey)**
**Edwin Schauble**** (U.C.L.A.)**
**Mark Sephton**** (Imperial ****	****College, London)**
**Kosei Yamaguchi**** (IFREE-****	****JAMSTEC, Japan)**

## Education and Public Outreach Team

**Lead: Rich Slaughter**** (Geology Museum, U.W. ****	****Madison)**
**Co-I:**
**Kay Ferrari**** (JPL)**
**Collaborators:**
**Geoff Holt**** (Madison Public Schools)**
**Brooke Swanson**** (Geology Museum, U.W. Madison)**
**Ellen Van Pay ****(Green Bay School District)**

## Research Program

**Investigation 1:**** The inventory of organics in a planetary body: Acquisition and modification during biogenic and abiogenic processes**
**Investigation 2:**** Development of biosignatures, paleoenvironmental proxies, and pathway tracers for aqueous-mineral systems**
**Investigation 3:**** Testing covariations of biosignatures and paleoenvironmental indicators in natural terrestrial systems**
**Investigation 4:**** Development of *****in situ***** instrumentation to detect isotopic biosignatures on planetary missions**

## Investigation 1

**Task 1: Characterization of extraterrestrial organic matter**
**Lead: Pascale ****	****Ehrenfreund**
**Task 2: Survival of organics in simulated planetary environments**
**Lead: Pascale ****	****Ehrenfreund**

## Investigation 2, Task 1: Experimental studies of O, S, and Fe isotope fractionation in sulfate mineral genesis

**Pyrite oxidation (Lead: Max Coleman)**
**FeS****2****(s)**** + 14Fe****3+****(aq)**** + 8H****2****O****(l)**** → 15Fe****2+****(aq)**** + 2SO****4****2-****(aq)**** + 16H****+****(aq)**
**Sulfate mineral synthesis (Lead: Chris Romanek)**
**Incl. melanterite - Fe****II****SO****4****·7H****2****O, rozenite - Fe****II****SO****4****·4H****2****O, szomolnokite - Fe****II****SO****4****·H****2****O, produced during pyrite oxidation**
**jarosite - KFe****III****3****(SO****4****)****2****(OH)****6****, alunite - KAl****3****(SO****4****)****2****(OH)****6**
**schwertmannite - Fe****III****8****O****8****(SO****4****)(OH)****6**
**"green rust" - [Fe****II****1-x****Fe****III****x****](OH)****2****-****y[AZ+(x+y)/Z]****·*****n*****H****2****O**
**Sulfate evaporation (Max Coleman)**
**Isotopic exchange kinetics (Max Coleman)**
**H****2****18****O****(l)**** + S****16****O****4****2-****(aq)**** ******** H****2****16****O****(l)**** + S****16****O****3****18****O****2-****(aq)**

## Investigation 2, Task 2: Carbonate mineral genesis 

**Investigation 2, Task 2: Carbonate ****mineral genesis **

**Controls on chemical compositions**
**Lead: Chris Romanek**
**Organic ligand-promoted carbonate nucleation**
**Lead: Chris Romanek**
**Silica-promoted heterogeneous carbonate nucleation **
**Lead: Nita Sahai**
**Effect of Surface Charge and Other Ions**
**Lead: Nita Sahai**
**Biological production of mixed cation carbonates**** **
**Lead: Eric Roden**

## Investigation 2, Task 2: Carbonate mineral genesis 

**Experimental determination of C, O, Mg, Ca, and Fe isotope fractionation factors for Ca-Mg-Fe carbonates**
**Lead: Brian Beard**

## Investigation 2, Task 3: Oxide mineral genesis 

**Experimental determination of bacterial oxide formation: low-pH Fe oxidation in the absence of pyrite**
**Lead: Eric Roden**
**Geochemical reaction modeling**
**Pathway-dependent isotopic fractionations**
**Experimental determination of O and Fe isotope fractionation during hematite, goethite, ferrihydrite, and magnetite formation**
**Lead: Clark Johnson**
**Equilibrium and kinetic fractionations**
**Isotopic exchange reactivity**
**Effects of Fe sorption**
**Effects of complex media (Ca****(aq)****, Si****(aq)****, etc.)**
**Comparison with biological fractionation experiments (NSF funded)**

## Investigation 3: Oxides, carbonates, and sulfides/sulfates in natural systems

## Investigation 3

**Task 1: O, S, and Fe isotope studies of modern acid-sulfate systems; Rio Tinto, Spain**
**Lead: Max Coleman**
**Task 2: O and Fe isotope studies of terrestrial analogs for iron oxide concretion formation**
**Navajo Sandstone, Utah (Lead: Clark Johnson)**
**Oxidation of Fe****2+****-bearing concretions (Lead: Max Coleman)**

## Investigation 3 – Cont.

**Task 3: Isotopic biosignatures and paleoenvironmental indicators in the Archean terrestrial record**
**Lead: Clark Johnson**
**Isotopic constraints on development of sulfate- and Fe(III)-reducing metabolisms**
**3.7-3.8 Ga BIFs in the Isua Supracrustal Belt, SW Greenland**
**3.5-2.7 Ga oxide, carbonate, and pyrite occurrences in the Pilbara (NW Australia) and Kaapvaal (S Africa) cratons**
**3.46 Ga Marble Bar Chert, Pilbara craton**
**3.4 Ga paleosols, Strelley Pool Chert and North Shaw, Pilbara craton**
**3.0 Ga BIFs, Pilbara craton**
**2.9-3.0 Ga oolitic hematite and magnetic shales in iron formations of the Mozaan Group, Kaapvaal craton**
**2.7 Ga pyrite-bearing shales of the Fortescue Group, Pilbara craton**
**2.5 Ga BIFs in the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons**

## Investigation 4: Development of in situ instrumentation to detect isotopic biosignatures on planetary missions 

**Investigation 4: Development of *****in situ***** instrumentation to detect isotopic biosignatures on planetary missions **

**Lead: Mahadeva Sinha**
**Task 1: Oxide, carbonate, and sulfate mineral decomposition methods for isotope analysis**
**Task 2: Evaluation of precision and accuracy of isotopic analysis using the MMS**

## EPO Program: Coordinated by UW Madison Geology Museum

**EPO Program: Coordinated by UW Madison Geology Museum**

**>40,000 visitors annually, including >13,000 K-12 students on tours**

## Madison-based EPO

**Museum Exhibit on Biosignatures**
**Lead: Rich Slaughter**
**Planetarium Program on Astrobiology and Biosignatures**
**Lead: Geoff Holt **
**Web-based general course on Astrobiology**
**Lead: Brooke Swanson**
**Astrobiology and Art**
**Lead: Rich Slaughter**
**The Rock Concert: a Musical Celebration of Deep Time (by world-renowned saxophonist Roy Nathanson); picked up by BBC, CNN, & the Late Show with David Letterman**
**Sculptural works in elemental sulfur by Kalpana Prakash**
**Glass and sulfur plasma discharge sculpture by Scott Schapiro**
**Sulfur-based photographic prints by Michael Ware**

## JPL-based EPO

**Solar System Ambassadors Program **
**Lead: Kay Ferrari**
**SSAP at JPL since 1997**
**Currently ~450 Ambassadors in 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico; there were 2,071 events in FY05, which cumulatively attracted 1,141,434 people**
**New materials in Astrobiology will be developed**
**Solar System Educators Program**
**Lead: Ellen Van Pay**
**Astrobiology for the Classroom – Educating K-12 Teachers and Students**