Sapers, H.M. and Osinski, G.R. and Banerjee, N.R. and Preston, Louisa (2014) Enigmatic tubular features in impact glass. Geology 42 (6), pp. 471-474. ISSN 0091-7613.
Abstract
We describe the fi rst putative microbial trace fossils hosted in meteorite impact glass. We conducted optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on postimpact tubular features hosted in impact glasses from the Ries impact structure (Germany). The morphologies of the tubules are inconsistent with known mineralogical crystallization mechanisms, and combined with evidence of organic molecules suggest that these tubules cannot be formed through purely abiotic processes. The simplest and most consistent explanation of the data is that biological activity played a role in the formation of the tubular textures in the Ries glasses, likely during postimpact hydrothermal activity. As impact glass is a ubiquitous substrate on rocky bodies throughout the Solar System and likely common on the early Earth, the preservation of biological activity in impact glass has signifi cant astrobiological implications for life on early Earth as well as for the search for life on other planets
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Louisa Preston |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2016 13:18 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:25 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/15867 |
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