Abiotic and candidate biotic micro-alteration textures in subseafloor basaltic glass: A high-resolution in-situ textural and geochemical investigation

摘要

The oceanic crust provides one of the largest habitats for subsurface microbial life on earth, where lithoautotrophs utilize redox gradients between reduced elements in volcanic rocks and oxygenated seawater to form the basis of a deepmicrobial biosphere. Progressive alteration of the oceanic crust is argued to be "in part" microbially mediated, but identifying robust textural and geochemical biosignatures with good fossilization potential is challenging.