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Archaean Traces of Life

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

Archaean biosignatures

Definition

The Archaean is the period of geological time between 3.8 and 2.5 billion years ago when life is thought to have emerged on Earth. Traces of Archaean life are preserved in rare, fragmentary, and often highly altered rock sequences. Morphological evidence for Archaean life is provided by microfossils, stromatolites, and microbially induced sedimentary structures. Chemical evidence for life is recorded by stable isotope ratios of carbon and sulfur in particular. These various biosignatures provide insights into the nature of early Archaean ecosystems and much remains to be learned about the predominant microbial metabolisms at this time and their distribution. Recognizing and distinguishing abiotic mimics from bona fide microbial also remains an important challenge. The effort to refine our understanding of microbial biosignatures in the Archaean rock record is essential to designing strategies for seeking life elsewhere in our universe and for...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Geology, Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa

    Nicola McLoughlin

Authors
  1. Nicola McLoughlin
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Correspondence to Nicola McLoughlin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Analytical, Environmental, Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Philippe Claeys

  5. Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Henderson James Cleaves

  6. Radio Astronomy, Paris Observatory, Paris, France

    Maryvonne Gerin

  7. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-Site de Meudon, Meudon, France

    Daniel Rouan

  8. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    Tilman Spohn

  9. Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques de Nantes, Centre François Viète d’Histoire des Sciences et de Techniques EA 1161, Nantes, France

    Stéphane Tirard

  10. Innovaxiom, Paris, CX, France

    Michel Viso

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McLoughlin, N. (2023). Archaean Traces of Life. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_101

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