Steep redox gradient and biogeochemical cycling driven by deeply sourced fluids and gases in a terrestrial mud volcano.

Mud volcanoes provide an accessible channel through which deep subsurface environments can be observed. The manner in which deeply sourced materials shape biogeochemical processes and microbial communities in such geological features remains largely unknown. This study characterized redox transitions, biogeochemical fluxes and microbial communities for samples collected from a methane-rich mud volcano in southwestern Taiwan. Our results indicated that oxygen penetration was confined within the upper 4 mm of fluids/muds and counteracted by the oxidation of pyrite, dissolved sulfide, methane and organic matter at various degrees. Beneath the oxic zone, anaerobic sulfur oxidation, sulfate reduction, anaerobic methanotrophy and methanogenesis were compartmentalized into different depths in the pool periphery, forming a metabolic network that efficiently cycles methane and sulfur. Community members affiliated with various Proteobacteria capable of aerobic oxidation of sulfur, methane and methyl compounds were more abundant in the anoxic zone with diminished sulfate and high methane. These findings suggest either the requirement of alternative electron acceptors or a persistent population that once flourished in the oxic zone. Overall, this study demonstrates the distribution pattern for a suite of oxidative and reductive metabolic reactions along a steep redox gradient imposed by deep fluids in a mud volcano ecosystem.

Atmospheric sulfur in Archean komatiite-hosted nickel deposits.

Some of Earth's largest iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) sulfide ore deposits formed during the Archean and early Proterozoic. Establishing the origin of the metals and sulfur in these deposits is critical for understanding their genesis. Here, we present multiple sulfur isotope data implying that the sulfur in Archean komatiite-hosted Fe-Ni sulfide deposits was previously processed through the atmosphere and then accumulated on the ocean floor. High-temperature, mantle-derived komatiite magmas were then able to incorporate the sulfur from seafloor hydrothermal sulfide accumulations and sulfidic shales to form Neoarchean komatiite-hosted Fe-Ni sulfide deposits at a time when the oceans were sulfur-poor.

Early formation of evolved asteroidal crust.

Mechanisms for the formation of crust on planetary bodies remain poorly understood. It is generally accepted that Earth's andesitic continental crust is the product of plate tectonics, whereas the Moon acquired its feldspar-rich crust by way of plagioclase flotation in a magma ocean. Basaltic meteorites provide evidence that, like the terrestrial planets, some asteroids generated crust and underwent large-scale differentiation processes. Until now, however, no evolved felsic asteroidal crust has been sampled or observed. Here we report age and compositional data for the newly discovered, paired and differentiated meteorites Graves Nunatak (GRA) 06128 and GRA 06129. These meteorites are feldspar-rich, with andesite bulk compositions. Their age of 4.52 +/- 0.06 Gyr demonstrates formation early in Solar System history. The isotopic and elemental compositions, degree of metamorphic re-equilibration and sulphide-rich nature of the meteorites are most consistent with an origin as partial melts from a volatile-rich, oxidized asteroid. GRA 06128 and 06129 are the result of a newly recognized style of evolved crust formation, bearing witness to incomplete differentiation of their parent asteroid and to previously unrecognized diversity of early-formed materials in the Solar System.

Long-term sustainability of a high-energy, low-diversity crustal biome.

Geochemical, microbiological, and molecular analyses of alkaline saline groundwater at 2.8 kilometers depth in Archaean metabasalt revealed a microbial biome dominated by a single phylotype affiliated with thermophilic sulfate reducers belonging to Firmicutes. These sulfate reducers were sustained by geologically produced sulfate and hydrogen at concentrations sufficient to maintain activities for millions of years with no apparent reliance on photosynthetically derived substrates.