Peering into the Cradle of Life: multiple sulphur isotopes reveal insights into environmental conditions and early sulphur metabolism some 3.5 Ga ago

窥视生命的摇篮：多种硫同位素揭示了对大约 3.5 Ga 前的环境条件和早期硫代谢的见解

• 批准号: 165992526
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Harald Strauß
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2009-12-31 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/165992526?language=en
• 关键词: Peering; into; Cradle; Life; multiple

One of the most intriguing questions in Earth and Life Sciences is where and when life emerged on our planet. Well preserved sediments with an age of 3500 Ma contain clear traces of life: microscopic structures composed of carbonaceous material and interpreted as microfossils, stromatolites, and geochemical and isotopic evidence that document the early presence of a rich microbial ecosystem on Earth. Any older record of life is unfortunately lost due to severe postdepositional alteration of an already sparse rock record. Among the isotopic evidence, multiple sulphur isotopes have become a prime biosignature, both in the modern world but more so in ancient rocks, including one of the oldest well preserved succession, i.e. sedimentary rocks from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. In addition, mass-independent sulphur isotope fractionation appears to be a prime recorder of Earth’s atmospheric composition, most prominently in respect to the presence of free oxygen. Consequently, multiple sulphur isotopes and complementary geochemical analyses will be used in order to peer into the cradle of life.

地球和生命科学中最有趣的问题之一是生命何时何地出现在我们的星球上。保存完好的沉积物，年龄为3500 Ma，包含清晰的生命痕迹：由碳质材料组成的微观结构，被解释为微化石，叠层石，以及地球化学和同位素证据，证明地球上早期存在丰富的微生物生态系统。任何更古老的生命记录都不幸地丢失了，因为沉积后已经稀少的岩石记录发生了严重的蚀变。在同位素证据中，多种硫同位素已成为一种主要的生物特征，不仅在现代世界，而且在古代岩石中更是如此，包括保存完好的最古老的地层之一，即南非巴伯顿绿岩带的沉积岩。此外，与质量无关的硫同位素分馏似乎是地球大气成分的主要记录者，最突出的是关于游离氧的存在。因此，将使用多种硫同位素和补充性地球化学分析，以窥视生命的摇篮。

项目成果

Sulphur tales from the early Archean world

早期太古代世界的硫磺故事

• DOI: 10.1017/s1473550415000531
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: International Journal of Astrobiology
• 影响因子: 1.7
• 作者: Montinaro;Strauss
• 通讯作者: Strauss

Paleoarchean sulfur cycling: Multiple sulfur isotope constraints from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa

• DOI: 10.1016/j.precamres.2015.06.008
• 发表时间: 2015-09
• 期刊: Precambrian Research
• 影响因子: 3.8
• 作者: A. Montinaro;H. Strauss;P. Mason;D. Roerdink;C. Münker;U. Schwarz-Schampera;N. Arndt;J. Farquhar;N. Beukes;J. Gutzmer;M. Peters