Detectability of red-edge-shifted vegetation on terrestrial planets orbiting M stars

We have explored the detectability of exovegetation on the surface of a terrestrial planet orbiting an M star. The exovegetation is responsible for producing a pigment-derived surface signature that is redshifted with respect to the Earth vegetation's red edge. The redshift was estimated using a model of leaf optical property spectra (Jacquemoud & Baret) combined with a 3 photon photosynthetic scheme calculated by Wolstencroft & Raven for a possible exovegetation growing on an M star planet. To study the detectability of this surface biosignature on an M star terrestrial planet, we have used the three-dimensional model developed by Tinetti et al. for the case of the Earth. This model can generate disk-averaged spectra and broadband integrated fluxes, which will be useful for future terrestrial planet exploration missions, such as the NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph. Input to this model were the atmospheric profiles and cloud distributions predicted by Joshi and coworkers for a synchronous planet orbiting an M dwarf and the distinctive surface reflectance of the exovegetation. While on Earth this pigment-derived surface feature would be almost completely masked by water absorption, even in a cloud-free atmosphere, we found that the strength of the edge feature on our simulated M star terrestrial planet can exceed that on Earth, given the right conditions. Obviously, the detectability of such biosignatures would be highly dependent on the extent of vegetation surface area, cloud cover, and viewing angle

Biosynthesis of 2-methylbacteriohopanepolyols by an anoxygenic phototroph

Sedimentary 2-methyhopanes have been used as biomarker proxies for cyanobacteria, the only known bacterial clade capable of oxygenic photosynthesis and the only group of organisms found thus far to produce abundant 2-methylbacteriohopanepolyols (2-MeBHPs). Here, we report the identification of significant quantities of 2-MeBHP in two strains of the anoxygenic phototroph Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Biosynthesis of 2-MeBHP can occur in the absence of O2, deriving the C-2 methyl group from methionine. The relative abundance of 2-MeBHP varies considerably with culture conditions, ranging from 13.3% of total bacteriohopanepolyol (BHP) to trace levels of methylation. Analysis of intact BHPs reveals the presence of methylated bacteriohopane-32,33,34,35-tetrol but no detectable methylation of 35-aminobacteriohopane-32,33,34-triol. Our results demonstrate that an anoxygenic photoautotroph is capable of generating 2-MeBHPs and show that the potential origins of sedimentary 2-methylhopanoids are more diverse than previously thought

Evidence for oxygenic photosynthesis half a billion years before the Great Oxidation Event

The early Earth was characterized by the absence of oxygen in the ocean–atmosphere system, in contrast to the well-oxygenated conditions that prevail today. Atmospheric concentrations first rose to appreciable levels during the Great Oxidation Event, roughly 2.5–2.3 Gyr ago. The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis is generally accepted to have been the ultimate cause of this rise, but it has proved difficult to constrain the timing of this evolutionary innovation. The oxidation of manganese in the water column requires substantial free oxygen concentrations, and thus any indication that Mn oxides were present in ancient environments would imply that oxygenic photosynthesis was ongoing. Mn oxides are not commonly preserved in ancient rocks, but there is a large fractionation of molybdenum isotopes associated with the sorption of Mo onto the Mn oxides that would be retained. Here we report Mo isotopes from rocks of the Sinqeni Formation, Pongola Supergroup, South Africa. These rocks formed no less than 2.95 Gyr ago in a nearshore setting. The Mo isotopic signature is consistent with interaction with Mn oxides. We therefore infer that oxygen produced through oxygenic photosynthesis began to accumulate in shallow marine settings at least half a billion years before the accumulation of significant levels of atmospheric oxygen

Geobiology of the late Paleoproterozoic Duck Creek Formation, Western Australia

The ca. 1.8 Ga Duck Creek Formation, Western Australia, preserves 1000 m of carbonates and minor iron formation that accumulated along a late Paleoproterozoic ocean margin. Two upward-deepening stratigraphic packages are preserved, each characterized by peritidal precipitates at the base and iron formation and carbonate turbidites in its upper part. Consistent with recent studies of Neoarchean basins, carbon isotope ratios of Duck Creek carbonates show no evidence for a strong isotopic depth gradient, but carbonate minerals in iron formations can be markedly depleted in C-13. In contrast, oxygen isotopes covary strongly with depth; delta O-18 values as positive as 2%. VPDB in peritidal facies systematically decline to values of 6 to 16% in basinal rocks, reflecting, we posit, the timing of diagenetic closure. The Duck Creek Formation contains microfossils similar to those of the Gunflint Formation, Canada; they are restricted to early diagenetic cherts developed in basinal facies, strengthening the hypothesis that such fossils capture communities driven by iron metabolism. Indeed, X-ray diffraction data indicate that the Duck Creek basin was ferruginous throughout its history. The persistence of ferruginous waters and iron formation deposition in Western Australia for at least several tens of millions of years after the transition to sulfidic conditions in Laurentia suggests that the late Paleoproterozoic expansion of sulfidic subsurface waters was globally asynchronous

Atmospheric and Surface Biosignatures in the reflected, emitted and transmitted Spectra of Terrestrial Exoplanets

International audienc

Atmospheric and Surface Biosignatures in the reflected, emitted and transmitted Spectra of Terrestrial Exoplanets

International audienc

Atmospheric and Surface Biosignatures in the reflected, emitted and transmitted Spectra of Terrestrial Exoplanets

International audienc