Microbial mediation of textures and minerals – terrestrial or parent body processes?

Abstract

Evolution of chondritic parent body is influenced by thermal, impact metamorphism and aqueous alteration, studied in Mező-Madaras, Knyahinya, Mócs and Nyírábrány in aspect of high resolution in situ textural, mineralogical and organic geochemical characteristics, using optical microscopy, FTIR-ATR and Raman spectroscopy. Our observations focused on Fe-containing opaque grains, glass, olivines and pyroxenes, which were well populated by micrometer-sized microbial filamentous elements in their boundary region within matrix and inside the minerals resembling mineralized microbially produced textures (MMPT), affecting 70-80 vol% of samples. In MMPT iron oxides (ferrihydrite, goethite), olivine, montmorillonite, kandite minerals and various hydrocarbon compounds were identified.

Keywords

• chondrite
• minerals
• alteration
• microbial
• exobiology
• fe-oxidizing microbes