Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry

Self-assembled Versus Biological Pattern Formation In Geology

By Keith Cowing

Status Report

nlin.PS)

January 9, 2026

Filed under biogeochemistry, Biomimetics, biosignature, imaging, microscopy, Nanotechnology, nlin.PS, self-assembly, self-organization, synbio

Self-assembled Versus Biological Pattern Formation In Geology — Biological and abiotic tubes. SEM images of tubular colonies of a) Aspergillus niger feeding on straw (image: Anna Neubeck) and b) manganese oxide chemical gardens (image: Huld et al., 2023). The A. niger tubes ranged in size between 2-5 µm in diameter, and the manganese oxides were found in ranges between 1–20 µm in size. SEM images of c) A. niger (image: Anna Neubeck), d) manganese oxide chemical gardens (image: Anna Neubeck), and e) A. niger closeup (image: D. Gregory & D. Marshall, CC BY 4.0). — nlin.PS

Both abiotic self-organization and biological mechanisms have been put forward as the origin of a number of geological patterns.

It is important to comprehend the formation mechanisms of such structures both to understand geological self-organization and in order to differentiate them from biological patterns — fossils and bio-influenced structures — seen in geological systems.

Being able to distinguish the traces of biological activity from geological self-organization is fundamental both for understanding the origin of life on Earth and for the search for life beyond Earth.

Julyan H. E. Cartwright, Charles S. Cockell, Julie G. Cosmidis, Silvia Holler, F. Javier Huertas, Sean F. Jordan, Pamela Knoll, Electra Kotopoulou, Corentin C. Loron, Sean McMahon, Anna Neubeck, Carlos Pimentel, C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz, Piotr Szymczak

Subjects: Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Geophysics (physics.geo-ph); Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
Cite as: arXiv:2601.00323 [nlin.PS] (or arXiv:2601.00323v1 [nlin.PS] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.00323
Focus to learn more
Submission history
From: Julyan Cartwright
[v1] Thu, 1 Jan 2026 12:36:04 UTC (29,869 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.00323

Astrobiology,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

Follow on Twitter