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Title: Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2

Abstract

The sources and nature of organic carbon on Mars have been a subject of intense research. Steele et al. (2012) showed that 10 martian meteorites contain macromolecular carbon phases contained within pyroxene- and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Here, we show that martian meteorites Tissint, Nakhla, and NWA 1950 have an inventory of organic carbon species associated with fluid-mineral reactions that are remarkably consistent with those detected by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. We advance the hypothesis that interactions among spinel-group minerals, sulfides, and a brine enable the electrochemical reduction of aqueous CO2 to organic molecules. Although documented here in martian samples, a similar process likely occurs wherever igneous rocks containing spinel-group minerals and/or sulfides encounter brines.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7];  [3]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [1];  [5]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [10]
  1. Carnegie Inst. for Science, Washington, DC (United States)
  2. German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg (Germany); Free University of Berlin (Germany); University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
  3. German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg (Germany)
  4. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm (Sweden)
  5. NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States)
  6. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)
  7. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  8. USRA–Science and Technology Institute, Huntsville, AL (United States)
  9. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  10. University of Leeds (United Kingdom); Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1494088
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Science Advances
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 4; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAAS
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Citation Formats

Steele, A., Benning, L. G., Wirth, R., Siljeström, S., Fries, M. D., Hauri, E., Conrad, P. G., Rogers, K., Eigenbrode, J., Schreiber, A., Needham, A., Wang, J. H., McCubbin, F. M., Kilcoyne, D., and Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego. Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aat5118.
Steele, A., Benning, L. G., Wirth, R., Siljeström, S., Fries, M. D., Hauri, E., Conrad, P. G., Rogers, K., Eigenbrode, J., Schreiber, A., Needham, A., Wang, J. H., McCubbin, F. M., Kilcoyne, D., & Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego. Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat5118
Steele, A., Benning, L. G., Wirth, R., Siljeström, S., Fries, M. D., Hauri, E., Conrad, P. G., Rogers, K., Eigenbrode, J., Schreiber, A., Needham, A., Wang, J. H., McCubbin, F. M., Kilcoyne, D., and Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego. 2018. "Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat5118. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1494088.
@article{osti_1494088,
title = {Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2},
author = {Steele, A. and Benning, L. G. and Wirth, R. and Siljeström, S. and Fries, M. D. and Hauri, E. and Conrad, P. G. and Rogers, K. and Eigenbrode, J. and Schreiber, A. and Needham, A. and Wang, J. H. and McCubbin, F. M. and Kilcoyne, D. and Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego},
abstractNote = {The sources and nature of organic carbon on Mars have been a subject of intense research. Steele et al. (2012) showed that 10 martian meteorites contain macromolecular carbon phases contained within pyroxene- and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Here, we show that martian meteorites Tissint, Nakhla, and NWA 1950 have an inventory of organic carbon species associated with fluid-mineral reactions that are remarkably consistent with those detected by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. We advance the hypothesis that interactions among spinel-group minerals, sulfides, and a brine enable the electrochemical reduction of aqueous CO2 to organic molecules. Although documented here in martian samples, a similar process likely occurs wherever igneous rocks containing spinel-group minerals and/or sulfides encounter brines.},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aat5118},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1494088}, journal = {Science Advances},
issn = {2375-2548},
number = 10,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Wed Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
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Cited by: 49 works
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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Light and CRIS of the relationship between magnetite and MMC in the meteorites studied. (A) Transmitted light microscopy image of a darkened area within maskelynite, entrained in the subsurface to the thin section in NWA 1950 (scale bar, 100 μm). The red box indicates the area for three-dimensionalmore » (3D) mapping by CRIS. (B) A 3D depth profile composite CRIS image of magnetite (red) and MMC (blue) (slices are 2 μm apart) from the area denoted by the red box in (A) (scale bar, ~60 μm). (C and D) The same area of Nakhla mesostasis imaged in transmission and reflection showing a magnetite grain beneath the surface of the section (marked by red arrows) (scale bars, 20 μm). (E) Transmitted light image of a magnetite-rich area (dark vertical band) in the Tissint meteorite [scale bar, 20 μm; red line on top delineates the area where a focused ion beam (FIB) section was removed for analyses; see Fig.  4]. (F to H) CRIS imaging maps taken at 8 μm into the surface of the thin section and depth profile of the feature shown in (A); (F) magnetite, (G) pyrite, and (H) MMC.« less

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Aqueous-Phase Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis with a Ruthenium Nanocluster Catalyst
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The Tissint Martian meteorite as evidence for the largest impact excavation
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Pressure–temperature evolution of primordial solar system solids during impact-induced compaction
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Direct electrolytic dissolution of silicate minerals for air CO2 mitigation and carbon-negative H2 production
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The provenance, formation, and implications of reduced carbon phases in Martian meteorites
journal, August 2016


High Pre-Eruptive Water Contents Preserved in Lunar Melt Inclusions
journal, May 2011


A Reduced Organic Carbon Component in Martian Basalts
journal, May 2012


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Works referencing / citing this record:

Indigenous Organic‐Oxidized Fluid Interactions in the Tissint Mars Meteorite
journal, March 2019


Critically testing olivine‐hosted putative martian biosignatures in the Yamato 000593 meteorite—Geobiological implications
journal, July 2019


Nitrogen isotope ratios trace high-pH conditions in a terrestrial Mars analog site
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Catalytic/Protective Properties of Martian Minerals and Implications for Possible Origin of Life on Mars
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Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.