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Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Preparation of Authigenic Pyrite from Methane-bearing Sediments for In Situ Sulfur Isotope Analysis Using SIMS
Published on: August 31, 2017
Microbial Sulfur Isotope Fractionation in the Chicxulub Hydrothermal System
David A Kring1, Martin J Whitehouse2, Martin Schmieder1,3
1Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA.
Abstract:
Target lithologies and post-impact hydrothermal mineral assemblages in a new 1.3 km deep core from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater indicate sulfate reduction was a potential energy source for a microbial ecosystem (Kring et al., 2020). That sulfate was metabolized is confirmed here by microscopic pyrite framboids with δ34S values of -5 to -35 ‰ and ΔSsulfate-sulfide values between pyrite and source sulfate of 25 to 54 ‰, which are indicative of biologic fractionation rather than inorganic fractionation processes. These data indicate the Chicxulub impact crater and its hydrothermal system hosted a subsurface microbial community in porous permeable niches within the crater's peak ring.
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