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Geology; June 2007; v. 35; no. 6; p. 487-490; DOI: 10.1130/G23534A.1
© 2007 Geological Society of America
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Direct dating of Archean microbial ichnofossils

Neil R. Banerjee*,1, Antonio Simonetti2, Harald Furnes3, Karlis Muehlenbachs4, Hubert Staudigel5, Larry Heaman6 and Martin J. Van Kranendonk7

1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
2 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada
3 Centre for Geobiology and Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allegaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
4 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada
5 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, California 92093-0225, USA
6 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada
7 Geological Survey of Western Australia, 100 Plain Street, East Perth, Western Australia 6004, Australia

Well-preserved Archean pillow lavas from the ca. 3.35 Ga Euro Basalt of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, contain micron-sized tubular structures mineralized by titanite (CaTiSiO4) with residual organic carbon preserved along their margins. Direct U-Pb dating of titanite in the tubular structures demonstrates an Archean age. These tubular microstructures are identical to microbial ichnofossils in modern basalts, ophiolites, and greenstone belts, and are interpreted as a biogenic signature in these ancient rocks. Microbial colonization of basaltic glass thus appears to have been part of a deep subsurface biosphere established early in Earth's history.

Key Words: early life • greenstone belt • Pilbara Craton • geochronology • ichnofossil • astrobiology






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