Reaching for life in the distant past – deciphering the geobiology of modern and ancient hydrothermal sulfides

寻找遥远过去的生命——破译现代和古代热液硫化物的地球生物学

• 批准号: 422423310
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Jan-Peter Duda
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Department of Earth Sciences
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Independent Junior Research Groups
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/422423310?language=en
• 关键词: Reaching; life; distant; past; deciphering

Deep-sea hydrothermal systems appear to have been critical for the early evolution of life on Earth, yet their geobiology has barely been explored and remains poorly understood. I hypothesize that ancient hydrothermal systems harbored significantly more diverse biological communities than previously thought and that the rock record can yield detailed insights into their fundamental geobiology (e.g., microbial community structures, environmental conditions). Our Emmy Noether junior research group will test this hypothesis by deciphering the geobiology of selected modern and ancient settings, including the Sulphur Springs Group (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia), the oldest known black smoker deposit on Earth. More specifically, we will achieve this through the combined analysis of rock fabrics and textures, organic-inorganic spatial relationships, and (kerogen bound-) lipid biomarkers. This integrative approach will yield important insights into the geobiology of the investigated hydrothermal sulfide systems. At the same time, it will reveal how the interplay of microbial life and physicochemical processes translates into geologically stable biosignatures – a crucial requisite for the interpretation of the fingerprints of life that may potentially be preserved in ancient hydrothermal systems.

深海热液系统似乎对地球上生命的早期进化至关重要，但其地球生物学几乎没有得到探索，仍然知之甚少。我假设古代热液系统比以前认为的更多样化的生物群落，岩石记录可以详细了解它们的基本地球生物学（例如，微生物群落结构、环境条件）。我们的埃米诺特初级研究小组将通过破译选定的现代和古代环境的地球生物学来测试这一假设，包括硫磺泉群（西澳大利亚州皮尔巴拉），地球上已知最古老的黑烟存款。更具体地说，我们将实现这一目标，通过岩石组构和纹理，有机-无机空间关系，（干酪根结合）脂质生物标志物的综合分析。这种综合的方法将产生重要的见解的地球生物学的调查热液硫化物系统。与此同时，它将揭示微生物生命和物理化学过程的相互作用如何转化为地质稳定的生物特征-这是解释可能保存在古代热液系统中的生命指纹的关键条件。