Microscopic and microbiological investigations of Mississippian sylvite

Richard B. Hoover; Elena V. Pikuta

doi:10.1117/12.971045

13 November 2012 Microscopic and microbiological investigations of Mississippian sylvite

Richard B. Hoover, Elena V. Pikuta

Proceedings Volume 8521, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XV; 852108 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.971045
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Sylvite is a potassium chloride (KCl) mineral that was first discovered in 1832 in evaporite deposits in sedimentary basins of Mt. Vesuvius. Sylvite is colorless (grey or white) but it is often found in association with red deposits of halite and a variety of other minerals (e.g., hilgardite, volkovskite, trembathite and strontioginorite). We have conducted an Optical Microscopy and Microbiological study of freshly fractured interior material of core samples of Sylvite and Halite from the Penobsquis Mines of Kings County, New Brunswick. These samples are dated as Early Carboniferous period, and of Mississippian sub-period (Toumaisian stage 345-359 Myr) from the Upper Halite Member of the Windsor Group Evaporites. During this study, viable microorganisms were isolated in enrichment cultures that represent an ancient life of the deposits. Currently, in microbiology, there are several records of the isolation of viable bacterial cultures from the Permian salt crystals and oil. In this article, we present the preliminary results of the study of ancient anaerobic enrichment cultures isolated from Mississippian Sylvite and Halite samples. Therefore, this study extends by more than 50 million years the paleontological record of viable and culturable microorganisms preserved in ancient salt crystals.

Citation Download Citation

Richard B. Hoover and Elena V. Pikuta "Microscopic and microbiological investigations of Mississippian sylvite", Proc. SPIE 8521, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XV, 852108 (13 November 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.971045

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