Mineralogy of saline perennial cold springs on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada and implications for spring deposits on Mars

Battler, M.; Osinski, G. R.; Banerjee, Neil R.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.08.031

Cited by 30 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Brine compositions and salt mineralogy at the springs are consistent with published data (Battler et al, ; Lay et al, ; Omelon et al, ; Ward & Pollard, ). Across all springs, fluids are dominated by sodium and chloride and contain significant concentrations of sulfate (Figure a and Table S1).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Mineralogy (measured by XRD after raising samples to 20 °C) is dominated at LH by Na sulfates, notably mirabilite and thenardite, with lesser contributions from chlorides (Table S2). The low‐temperature chloride hydrohalite is present in several samples, which had not previously been reported by Battler et al (). White crusts at CP are dominated by halite, while dark precipitates consisted primarily of gypsum (CaSO 4 .2H 2 O) and calcite (CaCO 3 ), which are not considered likely phases at Europa.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

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Natural Analogue Constraints on Europa's Non‐ice Surface Material

Fox-Powell

Osinski

Applin

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Non‐icy material on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa is hypothesized to have originated from its subsurface ocean and thus provide a record of ocean composition and habitability. The nature of this material is debated, but observations suggest that it comprises hydrated sulfate and chloride salts. Analogue spectroscopic studies have previously focused on single‐phase salts under controlled laboratory conditions. We investigated natural salts from perennially cold (<0 °C) hypersaline springs and characterized their reflectance properties at 100, 253, and 293 K. Despite similar major ion chemistry, these springs form mineralogically diverse deposits, which when measured at 100 K closely match reflectance spectra from Europa. In the most sulfate‐rich samples, we find that spectral features predicted from laboratory salts are obscured. Our data are consistent with sulfate‐dominated europan non‐icy material and further show that the emplacement of endogenic sulfates on Europa's surface would not preclude a chloride‐dominated ocean.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Natural Analogue Constraints on Europa's Non‐ice Surface Material

Fox-Powell

Osinski

Applin

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…It is hypothesized that these features may therefore be formed from two different processes: CO 2 -induced fluidization of regolith and subsurface water [86][87][88]. Perennially cold springs in the High Arctic on Earth have been proposed as potential analogue environments to understand the geochemistry and habitability of Martian briny water [92,93]. Droplets of putative salt solutions on the legs of the Phoenix lander provide evidence for physical and thermodynamic stability of brines on Mars [90] and deliquescence provides one mechanism by which these brines might form [91].…”

Section: Liquid Water Through Timementioning

confidence: 99%

11. The subsurface habitability of terrestrial rocky planets: Mars

Cockell¹

2014

Microbial Life of the Deep Biosphere

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“…Loktanella sp. were also previously identified at BFP in 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (Gleeson et al, 2011) as well as in other low-temperature environments throughout the Canadian Arctic (Perreault et al, 2007; Niederberger et al, 2009; Battler et al, 2013). Loktanella was previously reported as containing soxB from samples obtained at Gypsum Hill, a perennial Arctic spring on Axel Heiberg Island (Perreault et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Metagenomic Insights into Microbial Metabolisms of a Sulfur-Influenced Glacial Ecosystem

et al. 2020

Preprint

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25Biological sulfur cycling in polar, low-temperature ecosystems is an understudied 26 phenomenon in part due to difficulty of access and the ephemeral nature of such environments. 27 One such environment where sulfur cycling plays an important role in microbial metabolisms is 28 located at Borup Fiord Pass (BFP) in the Canadian High Arctic. Here, transient springs emerge 29 from the toe of a glacier creating a large proglacial aufeis (spring-derived ices) that are often 30 covered in bright yellow/white sulfur, sulfate, and carbonate mineral precipitates that are 31 accompanied by a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide. Metagenomic sequencing from multiple 32 sample types at sites across the BFP glacial system produced 31 highly complete metagenome 33 assembled genomes (MAGs) that were queried for sulfur-, nitrogen-and carbon-34 cycling/metabolism genes. Sulfur cycling, especially within the Sox complex of enzymes, was 35 widespread across the isolated MAGs and taxonomically associated with the bacterial classes 36 Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, and Epsilon-Proteobacteria. While this does agree with previous 37 research from BFP implicating organisms within the Gamma-and Epsilon-Proteobacteria as the 38 primary classes responsible for sulfur oxidation, our new data suggests putative sulfur oxidation 39 by organisms within Alpha-and Beta-Proteobacterial classes which was not predicted. These 40 findings indicate that in a low-temperature, ephemeral sulfur-based environment such as this, 41functional redundancy may be a key mechanism that microorganisms use to co-exist whenever 42 energy is limited and/or focused by redox chemistry. 43 44 Importance 45 Borup Fiord Pass is a unique environment characterized by a sulfur-enriched glacial 46 ecosystem, in the low-temperature environment of the Canadian High Arctic. This unique 47 3combination makes BFP one of the best analog sites for studying icy, sulfur-rich worlds outside 48 of our own, such as Europa and Mars. The site also allows investigation of sulfur-based 49 microbial metabolisms in cold environments here on Earth. Herein, we report whole genome 50 sequencing data that suggests sulfur cycling metabolisms at BFP are more widely used across 51 bacterial taxa than predicted. From our data, the metabolic capability of sulfur oxidation among 52 multiple community members appears likely due to functional redundancy within their genomes. 53Functional redundancy, with respect to sulfur-oxidation at BFP, may indicate that this dynamic 54 ecosystem hosts microorganisms that are able to use multiple sulfur electron donors alongside 55 other important metabolic pathways, including those for carbon and nitrogen. 56 57

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Mineralogy of saline perennial cold springs on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada and implications for spring deposits on Mars

Cited by 30 publications

References 48 publications

Natural Analogue Constraints on Europa's Non‐ice Surface Material

Natural Analogue Constraints on Europa's Non‐ice Surface Material

11. The subsurface habitability of terrestrial rocky planets: Mars

Metagenomic Insights into Microbial Metabolisms of a Sulfur-Influenced Glacial Ecosystem

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