Isotopic Evidence of Early Life in Western Australia

Researchers from NAI’s University of Wisconsin Team studied carbon and iron isotopes in core samples from 2.7-2.5 billion year old rocks in Western Australia. New iron isotope data integrated with previously collected carbon isotope data on the same samples document the sophisticated metabolic diversity of microbial communities that once lived in the region, showing that methane and iron cycling were likely coupled. Their results are published in a recent issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters. [Source NAI newsletter]