Apatite Archives - Astrobiology

Raman images showing the distribution of OM (red) and titanite (Ttn, purple) inside spheroids immediately adjacent to apatite (Ap, turquoise) and lepidocrocite (Lpc, white) embedded in the basaltic glass fragment composed of chlorite (Chl, blue). Note the surrounding matrix of calcite (Cal, green) does not contain apatite, the presence of microscopic size apatite and of nanoscopic size apatite crystals, and the location of the two regions of interest (ROI) for each. -- Nature Communications Earth & Environment

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report

Ichnofossils in Volcanic Glass From Palaeoproterozoic Hydrothermal Vents Were Burrowed By Microorganisms Probably Seeking Phosphate

by Keith CowingApril 6, 2026April 6, 2026

Ichnofossils in basaltic glass are putative microscopic trace fossils occurring on modern seafloor and throughout Earth history. While their biological origin remains debated, it is unknown why microorganisms thrive in […]

A–C, D–F, and G–I are hand specimen, optical microscopic, and back-scattered electron images, respectively. A, D, and G (sample no. B20) show textures in metasedimentary strata. They contain apatite and lack visible alteration. B, E, and H (sample no. B13) illustrate textures of the contact zone and a close interaction between the intrusive and the metasedimentary strata. C, F, and I (sample no. B23) show textures of the intrusive unit, which shows no alteration. Sample depths are provided in Supplementary Table S1. -- Nature Communications Earth & Environment

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Sample Return, Status Report

Magmatic And Thermally Produced Reactive Phosphorus 3.2 Billion Years Ago And Its Implications For Early Life

by Keith CowingNovember 19, 2025November 19, 2025

Reduced and polymerized phosphorus species may have been crucial for the origin and early evolution of life, as they are more reactive and soluble than phosphate.

The dominant phosphorous reservoirs throughout the HD 100546 disk. Left-hand panel: a map of the calculated disk temperature structure, which dictates phosphorous mineral stability. Normalised height above midplane is given by z/r, with height above midplane, z (au), divided by the radial distance, r (au). Hatched regions indicate the two dust rings identified in this system and the dotted black line marks the water iceline (parameterised simply as the 121 K isotherm after Lodders 2003). Right-hand panel: a map of the dominant phosphorous reservoirs in the disk assuming equilibrium at the dust temperature. The minerals apatite, merrillite, and schreibersite progressively replace each other as the main phoshporous reservoir as temperature is increased, up to the point where temperatures are high enough that all major phosphorous-bearing mineral phases have sublimated and most phosphorous is in the gas phase. Phosphorous dissolved in Fe metal is never a dominant reservoir, but its presence is mapped by the dashed contour. Mineral stabilties were taken from Pasek (2019). -- astro-ph.EP

Ariel Mission, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Refractory Phosphorus In The HD 100546 Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2025April 22, 2025

The phosphorus budget of planets is intertwined with their formation history and is thought to influence their habitability.

The Apollo (prefix A), Luna (prefix L), and Chang’e-5 (CE5) missions collected samples in and around the Procellarum KREEP Terrane which exhibits notably higher thorium (Th) than the Feldspathic Highlands and the SPA Basin. The Chang’e-6 (CE6) mission returned the first lunar samples from the lunar farside from the SPA Basin. The terrane boundaries are from ref. 5 and the Th base map is adapted from ref. 45. The sizes of the circles are scaled to the estimated maximum water abundance1,9,33 in the mantle source beneath the sampling sites. -- Nature

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Moon, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report

Water Abundance In The Mantle Of The Moon’s Farside

by Keith CowingApril 15, 2025April 15, 2025

The water contents of the lunar interior record important clues for understanding the formation and subsequent thermochemical evolution of the Moon.

A geothermal solution to the phosphate problem on the early Earth. (a) Phosphorus only constitutes around 0.1 wt % of Earth’s crust and is mostly bound as phosphate in apatite minerals, which renders it inaccessible for nascent life. (b) Heat flows in geothermal systems are able to enrich phosphate against calcium, boosting phosphate solubility 30 at neutral pH and its absolute concentrations for downstream synthesis of energy-rich trimetaphosphate (TMP). -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Heat Flows Solubilize Apatite To Boost Phosphate Availability For Prebiotic Chemistry

by Keith CowingAugust 21, 2024August 21, 2024

Phosphorus is an essential building block of the most prominent biomolecules, such as polynucleic acids, and has likely played that role since the beginning of life. Despite this importance for […]

Optical and electron microscope images of jaspilite from Dresser Formation (UWA100624). (A) Hand specimen of jaspilite from section J. (B) PPL image of jaspilite showing splotchy chert defined by heterogeneous distribution of minute Fe-rich particles. (C and D) PPL images showing location of FIB pit from jaspilitic chert. (E) Backscattered electron image of jaspilitic chert showing abundant minute particles, including platy laths (gre). (F and G) STEM-EDS iron and calcium element maps from FIB foil of jaspilitic chert showing minute crystals of greenalite (gre), siderite (sid), and apatite (ap) in chert cement (qtz). -- Science Advances

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Nanoparticulate Apatite and Greenalite In The Oldest, Well-preserved Hydrothermal Vent Precipitates

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2024June 25, 2024

Paleoarchean jaspilites are used to track ancient ocean chemistry and photoautotrophy because they contain hematite interpreted to have formed following biological oxidation of vent-derived Fe(II) and seawater P-scavenging.