Volcano-Ice Interaction as a Microbial Habitat on Earth and Mars

Abstract

11Volcano-ice interaction has been a widespread geologic process on Earth that 12 continues to occur to the present day. The interaction between volcanic activity 13 and ice can generate substantial quantities of liquid water, together with steep 14 thermal and geochemical gradients typical of hydrothermal systems. 15Environments available for microbial colonization within glaciovolcanic systems 16 are wide-ranging and include the basaltic lava edifice, subglacial caldera 17 meltwater lakes, glacier caves, and subsurface hydrothermal systems. There is 18 widespread evidence of putative volcano -ice interaction on Mars throughout its 19 history and at a range of latitudes. Therefore, it is possible that life on Mars may 20 have exploited these habitats, much in the same way as has been observed on 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 hydrothermal mineral deposits, basaltic lava flows, and subglacial lacustrine 25 deposits. Here, we briefly review the evidence for volcano-ice interactions on 26Mars and discuss the geomicrobiology of volcano-ice habitats on Earth. In 27 addition, we explore the potential for the detection of these environments on Mars 28and any biosignatures these deposits may contain. 29 30 Introduction 31The detection of extraterrestrial life has become a major goal in modern space 32 exploration, with Mars in particular being recognized as an appropriate target. The 33 search for life on Mars during the past few decades has been significantly aided 34 by research into life within martian analogue environments on Earth (e.g., 35Cavicchioli 2002). Environments that have received considerable attention as 36 proxies for past or present martian habitats include the Antarctic Dry Valleys 37 (Wierzchos et al., 2005;Walker & Pace 2007), the Atacama Desert (Navarro-38 Gonzalez et al., 2003), evaporite environments (Rothschild 1990; Edwards et al., 39 2006), and permafrost (Gilichinsky et al., 2007). These environments have shown 40 an array of resilient microbial communities that thrive under harsh environmental 41 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 The martian crust is predominantly igneous in nature and ranges from basaltic to 45 andesitic in composition (McSween et al., 2009). Therefore, it is imperative to 46 understand martian volcanic environments in terms of their habitability and 47 potential for microbial colonisation. In particular, where volcanism interacts with 48 liquid water, there is the potential to support life, as seen on Earth (e.g., Boston et 49 al., 1992). Liquid water is unstable at the martian surface today and has been for a 50 considerable part of its history. Water currently exists a...

Glaciovolcanic hydrothermal environments in Iceland and implications for their detection on Mars

“…As argued above (see also Cousins & Crawford 2011;Warner & Farmer 2010;Schulze-Makuch et al 2007) regions of volcano -cryosphere interaction on Mars are strong candidates for identifying near-surface evidence for past life. Evidence of volcano -ice interaction specifically occurs on a number of scales, from large-scale topographic and geomorphological features such as fissure swarms and flood erosion/deposits, to distinctive lithofacies within the rock record (pillow basalts, volcaniclastics), and finally hydrothermal alteration minerals and secondary mineral deposits.…”

“…Jökulhlaups produce distinctive depositional and erosional features ) and are analogous to flood deposits identified on Mars (Warner & Farmer 2010). They are of astrobiological interest due to the release of subsurface material and water to the surface (Cousins & Crawford 2011), and the evidence for hydrothermal activity they contain through alteration mineral assemblages (Warner & Farmer 2010). Bodies of water produced both during, and between, volcanic eruptions can be either released after a short period of time, such as was seen at Grimsvötn following the Gjálp eruption in 1996 (Gudmundsson et al 1997), or maintained as a relatively stable lake (Björnsson 2002).…”

“…Head & Wilson 2002;2007, Chapman et al 2000, and numerous examples can be found on Earth, both past and present. Basaltic volcanism on Earth, and its interaction with the local cryospheric environment has long provided analogues to surface features and processes on Mars (Cousins & Crawford 2011, and references therein), including those that have interacted with ground ice (e.g. Fagents & Thordarson 2007) and glaciers (e.g.…”

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

“…The instrument was part of ChemCam on the Curiosity Rover (Cousins and Crawford 2011). In each experiment, five samples are placed in the chamber (kept at room temperature) and the ChemCam instrument is installed 3 meters from the sample (Cremers and Radziemski 2006).…”

Transport and modification of glaciovolcanic glass from source to sink on Mars

“…In the dune transport cycle (Fig. 3) we can discriminate between four different stages: wind-induced Netherlands Journal of Geosciences -Geologie en Mijnbouw Cousins & Crawford, 2011) is favoured by coinciding peaks of volcanic and glacial activity (grey vertical bars;Neukum et al, 2010). Fagan et al (2010) and on orbital measurements of polar ice densities by Zuber et al (2007).…”