Generalizing biogeochemical models for astrobiology

Abstract:

For life on Earth we have a variety of well-developed experimental and theoretical tools for interrogating biogeochemistry in both modern and paleo environments. These techniques include full ecological models coupled to environments that predict biogeochemical dynamics. The question for astrobiological biosignatures becomes how different could life be and how can we define a set of broadly reliable biogeochemical measurements? In this talk we show how existing ecological models can be generalized beyond extant biology to produce a general set of biogeochemical biosignatures. We first address how to generalize organism physiology. We then incorporate this generalized physiology into ecological dynamics. Finally, we define a set of novel biosignatures that we believe are reliable even if the biotic processes radically differed from extant life.