Triple oxygen isotopes within post-Marinoan barites have played an integral role in our understanding of Cryogenian glaciations. Reports of anomalous ∆ 17 O values within cap carbonate hosted barites however have remained restricted to South China and Mauritania. Here we extend the ∆ 17 O anomaly to northwest Canada with our new measurements of barites from the Ravensthroat cap dolostone with a minimum ∆ 17 O value of-0.75‰. For the first time we pair triple oxygen with multiple sulfur isotopic data as a tool to identify the key processes that controlled the post-Marinoan sulfur cycle. We argue using a dynamic 1-box model that the observed isotopic trends both in northwest Canada and South China can be explained through the interplay between sulfide

No abstract

Lim et al. spe 483-01 page 86 bodies where scientifi c investigation is a key driver of exploration. In order to explore and collect samples underwater at Pavilion Lake, humans must, as they do in space, coordinate with unmanned robotic systems and contend with limitations associated with communications, visualization, and sampling of their environments, and their life support systems (LSS) (Lim et al., 2010). These working constraints are not simulated, but are real and inextricable from the PLRP's activities. As such, Pavilion Lake has become an important analog research environment in which to garner operational information applicable to the design of human planetary exploration strategies. The goal of this paper is to present a historical synopsis of analog science and exploration activities at Pavilion Lake with the specifi c aim of highlighting the unique contributions of the PLRP to the development of human planetary exploration strategies. To ensure that the complexity and richness of the project are properly captured in this paper, two appendices are included that document some of the PLRP's additional initiatives and activities (e.g., education and public outreach).

A B S T R A C T Total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of 258 LowerCretaceous McMurray Formation water samples in the Athabasca oil sands region (54 to 58°N and 110 to 114°W) were mapped using published data from recent government reports and environmental impact assessments. McMurray Formation waters varied from nonsaline (240 mg/L) to brine (279,000 mg/L) with a regional trend of high salinity water approximately following the partial dissolution front of the Devonian Prairie Evaporite Formation. The simplest hydrogeological explanation for the observed formation water salinity data is that Devonian aquifers are locally connected to the McMurray Formation via conduits in the sub-Cretaceous karst system in the region overlying the partial dissolution front of the Prairie Evaporite Formation. The driving force for upward formation water flow is provided by the Pleistocene glaciation events that reversed the regional Devonian flow system over the past 2 m.y. in the Athabasca region. This study demonstrates that a detailed approach to hydrogeological assessment is required to elucidate TDS concentrations in McMurray Formation waters at an individual lease-area scale. The observed heterogeneity in formation water TDS and the potential for present day upward flow has implications for both mining and in situ oil sands resource development.

In a petroleum impacted land-farm soil in Sarnia, Ontario, compound-specific natural abundance radiocarbon analysis identified biodegradation by the soil microbial community as a major pathway for hydrocarbon removal in a novel remediation system. During remediation of contaminated soils by a plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhanced phytoremediation system (PEPS), the measured Delta(14)C of phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers ranged from -793 per thousand to -897 per thousand, directly demonstrating microbial uptake and utilization of petroleum hydrocarbons (Delta(14)C(PHC) = -1000 per thousand). Isotopic mass balance indicated that more than 80% of microbial PLFA carbon was derived from petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) and a maximum of 20% was obtained from metabolism of more modern carbon sources. These PLFA from the contaminated soils were the most (14)C-depleted biomarkers ever measured for an in situ environmental system, and this study demonstrated that the microbial community in this soil was subsisting primarily on petroleum hydrocarbons. In contrast, the microbial community in a nearby uncontaminated control soil maintained a more modern Delta(14)C signature than total organic carbon (Delta(14)C(PLFA) = +36 per thousand to -147 per thousand, Delta(14)C(TOC) = -148 per thousand), indicating preferential consumption of the most modern plant-derived fraction of soil organic carbon. Measurements of delta(13)C and Delta(14)C of soil CO(2) additionally demonstrated that mineralization of PHC contributed to soil CO(2) at the contaminated site. The CO(2) in the uncontaminated control soil exhibited substantially more modern Delta(14)C values, and lower soil CO(2) concentrations than the contaminated soils, suggesting increased rates of soil respiration in the contaminated soils. In combination, these results demonstrated that biodegradation in the soil microbial community was a primary pathway of petroleum hydrocarbon removal in the PEPS system. This study highlights the power of natural abundance radiocarbon for determining microbial carbon sources and identifying biodegradation pathways in complex remediation systems.