Synonyms
Definition
A component that may be textural, chemical, mineral, or biological and that formed within the host material. For example, a mineral phase or organic structure found in a rock that is indigenous to that rock and not derived from external sources. Endogenicity concerns the source of a component with respect to space and this differs from syngenicity that concerns the source of a component with respect to time.
History
Traditionally, the term endogenetic has been used in geology to refer to processes originating below the Earth’s surface as opposed to exogenetic that describes geological processes acting at or near the Earth’s surface. This definition is here modified for the investigation of astrobiological samples obtained from a range of planetary surfaces and to operate at all observational scales from the field outcrop, hand sample to microscope.
Overview
A component formed within the host material that is indigenous to that sample and formed in a...
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References and Further Reading
Bernard S, Benzerara K, Beyssac O, Menguy N, Guyot F, Brown JE, Goffé B (2007) Exceptional preservation of fossil plant spores in high-pressure metamorphic rocks. Earth Planet Sci Lett 262:257–272
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Pinti DL, Mineau R, Clement V (2009) Hydrothermal alteration and microfossil artefacts of the 3,465-million-year-old Apex Chert. Nat Geosci 2:640–643
Rasmussen B, Fletcher IR, Brocks JJ, Kilburn MR (2008) Reassessing the first appearance of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria. Nature 455:1101–1104
Thomas-Keptra KL, Clemett SJ, McKay DS, Gibsin EK, Wentworth SJ (2009) Origins of magnetite nanocrystals in Martian Meteorite ALH84001. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 73:6631–6677
Toporski J, Steele A (2007) Observations from a 4-year contamination study of a sample depth profile through the Martian Meteorite Nakhla. Astrobiology 7:389–401
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McLoughlin, N. (2023). Endogenicity. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_512
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_512
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