Early Life Recorded in Archean Pillow Lavas

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 304; no. 5670; pp. 578 - 581
• Main Authors: Furnes, Harald, Banerjee, Neil R., Muehlenbachs, Karlis, Staudigel, Hubert, de Wit, Maarten
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 23-04-2004; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Bacteria - growth & development; Biomarkers; Carbon; Carbon Isotopes - analysis; Carbonates; Carbonates - analysis; Chemical elements; Chemical properties; Company growth; Crystalline rocks; Earth; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Fractionation; Genetic variation; Geologic Sediments; Geology; Glass; Growth; History; Igneous and metamorphic rocks petrology, volcanic processes, magmas; Invertebrate paleontology; Lava; Life; Location; Marine; Metamorphic rocks; Microbial corrosion; Microorganisms; Oceanic crust; Origin; Origin of life; Paleontology; Photomicrographs; Pillow lavas; Rocks; South Africa; Stratigraphy; Time; Tubular structures; Volcanic Eruptions; South Africa; Southern Africa; Barberton greenstone belt; Norway; stable isotopes; bacteria; etching; C-13/C-12; volcanic rocks; Africa; igneous rocks; submarine volcanism; Precambrian; carbonates; tracks; lava; prokaryotes; biogenic origin; life origin; basalts; colonization; volcanic glass; pillow lava; Archean; organic carbon; fractures; oceanic crust
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1095858

Pillow lava rims from the Mesoarchean Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa contain micrometer-scale mineralized tubes that provide evidence of submarine microbial activity during the early history of Earth. The tubes formed during microbial etching of glass along fractures, as seen in pillow lavas from recent oceanic crust. The margins of the tubes contain organic carbon, and many of the pillow rims exhibit isotopically light bulk-rock carbonate δ13C values, supporting their biogenic origin. Overlapping metamorphic and magmatic dates from the pillow lavas suggest that microbial life colonized these subaqueous volcanic rocks soon after their eruption almost 3.5 billion years ago.