Manganese stromatolites in caves: El Soplao (Cantabria, Spain)
Manganese stromatolites in caves: El Soplao (Cantabria, Spain)
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DOI：
10.1130/g31283.1
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发表时间：
2010-12
期刊：
影响因子：
5.8
通讯作者：
C. Rossi;R. Lozano;Nuria Isanta;J. Hellstrom
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Rossi;R. Lozano;Nuria Isanta;J. Hellstrom
在洞穴的黑暗区域，叠层石的形成几乎是未知的。虽然在一些洞穴中发现了可能由细菌引起的氧化锰结壳，但它们缺乏叠层石的特征，微生物起源的证据通常是不确定的。在这里，我们描述的第一次发生广泛的锰氧化物叠层石形成的洞穴内部深处。叠层石的厚度为分米级，长度为千米级，其特征与典型的CaCO3叠层石极为相似。然而，与大多数叠层石不同的是，它们的生物原性得到了异常丰富的化石微生物的支持。我们的数据支持，叠层石主要是由化能无机营养锰氧化微生物引起的，并形成在一个低梯度的地下水位通道至少100万年。前El Soplao stromatestrium（西班牙坎塔布里亚）可能有助于增加我们对极端环境中微生物生命的理解，以及细菌在现代和古代锰矿床成因中的作用。
In the dark regions of caves, the formation of stromatolites is virtually unknown. Although Mn oxide crusts presumably induced by bacteria have been described in some caves, they lack stromatolite features, and the evidence of microbial origin is normally inconclusive. Here we describe for the first time the occurrence of extensive Mn oxide stromatolites formed in the deep interior of a cave. The stromatolites are of decimeter thickness and kilometer extent and show features extremely similar to typical CaCO 3 stromatolites. However, unlike most stromatolites, their biogenicity is supported by the exceptional abundance of fossil microbes. Our data support that the stromatolites were mainly induced by chemolithotrophic Mn-oxidizing microbes, and were formed in a low-gradient water-table stream passage at least ∼1 m.y. ago. The El Soplao stromatolites (Cantabria, Spain) may contribute to increasing our understanding of microbial life in extreme environments, as well as the role of bacteria in the genesis of modern and ancient Mn deposits.