ストロマトライトサンゴ礁は,オーストラリアの初期アーカイアン時代のものです
Abigail C Allwood1, Malcolm R Walter, Balz S Kamber
1Australian Centre for Astrobiology/Macquarie University Biotechnology Research Institute, Macquarie University, Herring Road, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia. aallwood@els.mq.edu.au
Nature
|June 9, 2006
まとめ
オーストラリアの古代のストロマトライトは,初期の生命の強力な証拠を提供します. この研究は,多様で複雑な構造を明らかにし,非生物学的起源を否定し,数十億年前の微生物生態系をサポートしています.
科学分野:
- 地質学 地質学 地質学
- パレオントロジー・パレオントロジー
- 天体生物学 アストロバイオロジー
背景:
- ストレリー・プール・チャート (SPC) は,343億年前のもので,生物学的起源 (ストロマトライト) を示唆する層状構造を含んでいる.
- このような古代の化石の生体性を解釈することは,保存と解釈の問題のために困難です.
研究 の 目的:
- ストレーリー・プール・チャート (Strelley Pool Chert) の何キロメートル規模の古生物学および古環境調査を実施する.
- ストロマトライトの形態型を特定し,それらの特定の古環境の文脈の中で分析する.
- アビオジェニック仮説を否定し,これらの古代構造の生物学的起源を支持する.
主な方法:
- ストレーリー・プール・チャート (Strelley Pool Chert) の露出地の広範なフィールドマッピングと地質調査.
- 環状カーボネートプラットフォームのストロマトライト構造の詳細な形態学的分析.
- 特定された形態型の堆積環境を理解するために,比較的な古環境再構築.
主要な成果:
- 7つの異なるストロマトライトの形態型が特定され,その中にはこれまでに記録されていないものも含まれている.
- 特定のストロマトライトの形態型と,古代炭酸岩のプラットフォーム上の特定の古老環境条件の相関.
- ストロマトライト形成のための提案されたアビオジェニックメカニズムのSPCにおける反論.
結論:
- SPCストロマトライトの多様性,複雑性,環境分布は,生物学的起源を強く示している.
- これらの発見は,地球上の初期の生命の有力な証拠を提供し,天体生物学の分野を支えています.
- この研究は,古代ストロマトリウスの形成における生体性を特定するための新しい基準を確立しています.
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