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Organic Geochemical Microanalysis by Time‐of‐Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS)
No full textTime-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a powerful method for the chemical analysis of solid surfaces. In this paper, the capabilities and limitations of this technique and the potential for its use in geochemical research are outlined. Using ToF-SIMS, the chemical composition of sample structures down to 10-100 mu m can be determined, without the need for pre-selection or labelling of the analysed substances. In addition, the lateral distribution of organic and inorganic compounds can be mapped in geochemical samples at a resolution in the micrometre range. The capabilities of the technique in geochemistry are illustrated by two examples. In the first example, it is shown that ToF-SIMS can be used to detect biomarkers in oil samples, making it a promising method for the analysis of biomarkers in fluid inclusions. In the second example, a number of specific lipid biomarkers were identified and mapped on the surface of a microbial mat cryosection surface. Post-measurement optical microscopy correlated the localisation of the lipids with the presence of methanotrophic archaea in the microbial mat
Detection of organic biomarkers in crude oils using ToF-SIMS
No full textIn this study, we show that time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) can be used to detect organic biomarkers, such as hopanes and steranes, in non-fractionated crude oils, without extraction and chemical preparation. Hopanes and steranes may provide valuable information on the history of life on early Earth, particularly if they are present in fluid inclusions in ancient rocks. Due to the presence of different generations of inclusions in even very small rock samples, it would be advantageous to find a method capable of detecting biomarkers in single oil rich fluid inclusions. The capability of ToF-SIMS for detailed chemical analysis of very small sample amounts makes it a potential technique for such analysis, and in this work this possibility is explored. The presence of hopanes and steranes in four different crude oils of different ages and stages of biodegradation was investigated using ToF-SIMS and GC-MS. By combining analyses of biomarker standards, crude oils and chromatographic oil fractions, specific peaks for the different biomarkers were identified in the ToF-SIMS spectra. The presence of these peaks in the spectra from the crude oil samples could be attributed to the biomarkers based on exact mass determination and by comparison with the spectra from the biomarker containing and biomarker lacking fractions, respectively. In addition, the results show that a significant biomarker signal may be obtained from a 10 m,2 oil sample, demonstrating the potential of ToF-SIMS for analysis of single oil bearing fluid inclusions, which in turn may contribute to a better understanding of the early history of life on Earth. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Analysis of hopanes and steranes in single oil-bearing fluid inclusions using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)
No full textSteranes and hopanes are organic biomarkers used as indicators for the first appearance of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria on Earth. Oil-bearing fluid inclusions may provide a contamination-free source of Precambrian biomarkers, as the oil has been secluded from the environment since the formation of the inclusion. However, analysis of biomarkers in single oil-bearing fluid inclusions, which is often necessary due to the presence of different generations of inclusions, has not been possible due to the small size of most inclusions. Here, we have used time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to monitor in real time the opening of individual inclusions trapped in hydrothermal veins of fluorite and calcite and containing oil from Ordovician source rocks. Opening of the inclusions was performed by using a focused C(60)+ ion beam and the in situ content was precisely analysed for C(27)-C(29) steranes and C(29)-C(32) hopanes using Bi(3)+ as primary ions. The capacity to unambiguously detect these biomarkers in the picoliter amount of crude oil from a single, normal-sized (15-30 mu m in diameter) inclusion makes the approach promising in the search of organic biomarkers for life's early evolution on Earth
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The Search for Life on Mars - Preparation for Sample Return
No full textThe purpose of the thesis work has been to develop methods and concepts to aid in the search, detection and assessment of ancient microfossils here on Earth as a guide to the search for ancient life on Mars. The intention has been to identify and characterize environments on Earth that may be considered analogous to Martian environments and in which fossil preservation is expected to be good, and to develop and apply methods to characterize the isotopic and chemical composition of possible traces of life in order to assess their biogenicity and biological affinities. An investigation of the Siljan impact structure, Sweden, demonstrated that niches for thermophilic organisms were created in the associated hydrothermal system. The temperature regimes were favorable for thermophilic life in the outer parts of the structure during the early and main stages of the hydrothermal system, but that these niches moved toward the center of the crater during the final cooling stages. It was demonstrated that the hydrothermal system contains traces of a thermophilic microbial community, represented by fossilized extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Given the presence of water on Mars, similar impact-induced hydrothermal systems were probably generated on Mars as well. These regions, like those at Siljan, may have supported hyperthermophilic microbial communities on the red planet, emphasizing the relevance of searching for impact-induced hydrothermal deposits for evidence of microbial life on Mars. A method for the determination of stable carbon isotopes with high lateral resolution of TEM (transmission electron microscopy) samples has been developed. The method is based on alpha-particle Rutherford backscattering (RBS), it is non-destructive, and therefore suitable for analysis of extraterrestrial and other rare or irreplaceable material. Also, a novel concept to extract fluid inclusions without ablating the sample has been proposed, and a proof-of-concept has been demonstrated. The purpose is to analyze organic biomarkers trapped in fluid inclusions without risking contamination, and also to extract and analyze single fluid inclusions. The minimized contamination risk and the potential to extract single fluid inclusions could make the method a useful tool in the search for organic biomarkers in early-Earth material, and eventually, in samples returned from Mars
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