We investigate the utility of adding a 365 nm ultraviolet (UV) light source to the ExoMars panoramic camera (PanCam) scheduled for launch in 2013. The modification makes it feasible to monitor rover drill cuttings for aromatic organic molecules and provide constraints on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as a function of...
During Leg 168 of the Ocean Drilling Program, basalts were recovered by drilling and subsurface water was collected with a water sampling tool at Hole 1026B on the east flank of Juan de Fuca Ridge. Microorganisms were found in both types of samples. The microorganisms in the basalt appear to...
We estimate the depth of the 120°C isotherm by constructing crustal thermal gradients based on theoretical and observed conductive heat flux as a function of lithospheric age. We chose the 120°C isotherm because it is close to the upper limit for prokaryotic life, and therefore, the isotherm approximates the maximum...
Hydrothermal vents appear to be the tip of the subsurface biosphere in the ocean crust. The primary prducers in this biosphere are prokaryotes that tolerate a wide variety of physical and chemical conditions and are versatile in their use of inorganic compounds to drive metabolism. A synthesis of chemical and...
The boundary between ice and basalt on Earth is an analog for some near-surface environments of Mars. We investigated neutrophilic iron-oxidizing microorganisms from the basalt-ice interface in a lava tube from the Oregon Cascades with perennial ice. One of the isolates (Pseudomonas sp. HerB) can use ferrous iron Fe(II) from...
The boundary between ice and basalt on Earth is an analog for some near-surface environments of Mars. We investigated neutrophilic iron-oxidizing microorganisms from the basalt-ice interface in a lava tube from the Oregon Cascades with perennial ice. One of the isolates (Pseudomonas sp. HerB) can use ferrous iron Fe(II) from...
Microchannels in ocean basalt glass are often attributed to the activity of microorganisms, however, neither the mechanism of formation of microchannels in glass nor the involvement of microorganisms have been confirmed by experimentation. Experimental abiotic corrosion of basalt glass with 1% hydrofluoric acid (HF), a proxy for more slowly acting...
The boundary between ice and basalt on Earth is an analog for some near-surface environments of Mars. We investigated neutrophilic iron-oxidizing microorganisms from the basalt-ice interface in a lava tube from the Oregon Cascades with perennial ice. One of the isolates (Pseudomonas sp. HerB) can use ferrous iron Fe(II) from...
These first measurements of specific surface area (SSA)
of bulk samples of subsurface marine basalts were undertaken
to determine the potential area available for microbial
colonization. SSA ranged from 0.3 to 52 m2/g of basalt
with the lowest value coming from pillow basalt and the
highest value from breccia. The...
We propose alternative mechanisms for the origin of three unusual rock suites, high-Mg andesites, NaTi basalts, and arclike rocks, that have been dredged from the Woodlark basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. We show that the high-Mg andesites and NaTi basalts are associated with an unusually cool ridge environment. The cooling is...