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Life is everywhere in sinters: examples from Jurassic hot-spring environments of Argentine Patagonia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2019

Diego M Guido Open the ORCID record for Diego M Guido [Opens in a new window] ,
Kathleen A Campbell ,
Frédéric Foucher  and
Frances Westall
Diego M Guido*
Affiliation:
CONICET and Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Instituto de Recursos Minerales (INREMI), Calle 64 y 120, La Plata (1900), Argentina
Kathleen A Campbell
Affiliation:
School of Environment and Te Ao Mārama – Centre for Fundamental Inquiry, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Frédéric Foucher
Affiliation:
CNRS-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France
Frances Westall
Affiliation:
CNRS-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France
*
Author for correspondence: Diego M Guido, Email: diegoguido@yahoo.com
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Abstract

Jurassic siliceous hot-spring (sinter) deposits from Argentine Patagonia were evaluated to determine the distribution and preservation quality of their entombed microbial fabrics. Detailed study showed that the Claudia palaeo-geothermal field hosts the best-preserved sinter apron in the Deseado Massif geological province, where we also found hot-spring silica–biotic interactions extending into hydrothermally influenced fluvial and lacustrine settings. Carbonaceous material was identified by petrography and Raman spectroscopy mapping; it is inter-laminated with silica across proximal vent to distal marsh facies. The ubiquitous presence of microbial biosignatures has application to studies of hydrothermal settings of early life on Earth and potentially Mars.

Keywords

JurassicPatagoniaArgentinasinterhot springcarbonRaman
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 156 , Issue 9 , September 2019 , pp. 1631 - 1638
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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