P059-09
The potential for bioactivity and biological preservation in fumaroles at Holuhraun, a fissure eruption Mars analog site in the Icelandic Highlands

Monday, 14 December 2020: 08:54
Virtual
Anna Simpson1, Erika Rader2, Alexander Michael Sessa1, Morgan L Cable3, Kseniya Spikina1, Amanda M. Stockton4 and FELDSPAR, (1)Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus, Atlanta, GA, United States, (2)University of Idaho, Geology, Moscow, ID, United States, (3)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (4)Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Atlanta, GA, United States
Abstract:
Areas of volcanic hydrothermal mineral alteration on Mars are promising sites for biosignature preservation. Opaline silica formed in hydrothermal environments preserves traces of microbial life. Volcanic hot springs and fumaroles on Mars could have brought warmth, moisture, reducing compounds and nutrients to the oxidized surface, providing oases for life long after Mars cooled and lost moisture. Since fumarole formation requires minimal subsurface water, it is likely that we will find more evidence of fumaroles later in Mars’ geologic history compared to hot springs – but the potential for biosignature preservation in fumaroles is still in question. In the Atacama, fumaroles act as oases for life, while fumaroles in Hawai’i and Idaho host fewer and sparser species compared to surrounding rock and sediment.

In order to investigate the potential of fumaroles as sites of biological abundance and preservation, in 2018 the FELDSPAR team visited the fumarole field at Holuhraun, a Mars analog site in the Icelandic Highlands. This recent (2014) fissure eruption will allow for the monitoring of biological abundance and activity within fumaroles over time. We measured VNIR reflectance and X-ray fluorescence of sediment and collected samples for analysis of bioactivity and biomass across two active and two inactive fumaroles.

Preliminary results show that biomass and biological activity were reduced in areas of highest mineral alteration in both active and inactive fumaroles compared to unaltered basalts in the fumarole field. Lava flows south of the fissure hosted biological activity several orders of magnitude higher than the western fumarole field as a whole. VNIR spectra show limited evidence of opaline silica in the sediment and rock in and around the fumaroles. Further study of the biological potential of fumaroles in a variety of Mars analog environment is necessary; our initial results combined with other studies suggest that moisture rather than temperature or chemical limitation may be the controlling factor on whether fumarole sites act as oases or deserts for life.

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