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Direct dating of Archean microbial ichnofossils

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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. McLoughlin, H. Furnes, N.R. Banerjee, K. Muehlenbachs, and H. Staudigel Ichnotaxonomy of microbial trace fossils in volcanic glass Journal of the Geological Society, January 1, 2009; 166(1): 159 - 169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]