Pyrite as a template for carbon fixation

• An important process in the evolution of life is the precipitation and concentration of organic species. There are several examples of minerals acting as templates for the accumulation and concentration of organic matter. These include for instance clays (e.g. Cairns-Smith and Hartman, 1986), radioactive minerals (e.g. Rasmussen, et al. 1993), zeolites and feldspars (e.g. Smith, et al. 1999) and the sulphide mineral pyrite (FeS2) (e.g. Wächtershäuser, 1988). Wächtershäuser (1988) suggested that prebiotic chemistry and eventually life itself could have started on the surface of pyrite. Pyrite carries a slight positive electrical charge, and can attract negatively charged organic molecules, bringing them close enough to interact. Pyrite is also oil-wet in some circumstances (Yusupova, 2002). This means that if the mineral is exposed to a mix of oil and water, the oil will preferentially adhere to the surface of pyrite. We have studied migrated organic matter in the Irish Carboniferous, including in sulphide deposits, to assess whether sulphides in fact do act as templates for organics. Here, pyrite was found acting as a template for carbon fixation in hydrothermal calcite veins, cutting through limestone. The pyrite crystals are ca. 1 mm in diameter and scattered throughout the vein matrix. The organic matter is migrated bitumen, and appears as smooth and rounded solid droplets, concentrated around the pyrite crystals. Scanning electron microscope analyses show the organics occurring as a ca. 150 µm thick and even coating around the pyrite crystals. Sulphide templates could be important for carbon fixation on Mars. There is widespread evidence of that sulphur species are prominent in Martian surface environments, assumed to have been introduced to the surface through volcanic activity. Currently, the Martian surface is highly oxidizing and therefore sulphates predominate, but early in the planet’s history reducing conditions pertained. Accordingly it has been suggested that sulphides occurs on Mars (Burns and Fisher, 1990), now preserved at depth. Sulphides are also known to be present on Mars from Martian meteorites (e.g. Greenwood, et al. 2000). Sulphides are sources of fuel for micro-organisms that oxidize sulphides on Earth, and the same could have been the case on Mars (Bishop, et al. 2004). The carbon coated pyrite in this study, is one example from the geological record showing that terrestrial sulphides can have a high potential for the preservation of organic materials. This could also be possible on Mars, and therefore Martian sulphides are good targets for seeking evidence of putative Martian life.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Earth sciences

Geovetenskap

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