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Multiwavelength Ablation/Ionization and Mass Spectrometric Analysis of 1.88 Ga Gunflint Chert
Univ Bern, Phys Inst, Space Res & Planetary Sci WP, Sidlerstr 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9257-7410
Univ Bern, Phys Inst, Space Res & Planetary Sci WP, Sidlerstr 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Univ Bern, Phys Inst, Space Res & Planetary Sci WP, Sidlerstr 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Univ Bern, Phys Inst, Space Res & Planetary Sci WP, Sidlerstr 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9007-5791
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2022 (English)In: Astrobiology, ISSN 1531-1074, E-ISSN 1557-8070, Vol. 22, no 4, p. 369-386Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The investigation of chemical composition on planetary bodies without significant sample processing is of importance for nearly every mission aimed at robotic exploration. Moreover, it is a necessary tool to achieve the longstanding goal of finding evidence of life beyond Earth, for example, possibly preserved microbial remains within martian sediments. Our Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS) is a compact time-of-flight mass spectrometer intended to investigate the elemental, isotope, and molecular composition of a wide range of solid samples, including e.g., low bulk density organic remains in microfossils. Here, we present an overview of the instrument and collected chemical spectrometric data at the micrometer level from a Precambrian chert sample (1.88 Ga Gunflint Formation, Ontario, Canada), which is considered to be a martian analogue. Data were collected from two distinct zones-a silicified host area and a carbon-bearing microfossil assemblage zone. We performed these measurements using an ultrafast pulsed laser system (pulse width of similar to 180 fs) with multiple wavelengths (infrared [IR]-775 nm, ultraviolet [UV]-387 nm, UV-258 nm) and using a pulsed high voltage on the mass spectrometer to reveal small organic signals. We investigated (1) the chemical composition of the sample and (2) the different laser wavelengths' performance to provide chemical depth profiles in silicified media. Our key findings are as follows: (1) microfossils from the Gunflint chert reveal a distinct chemical composition compared with the host mineralogy (we report the identification of 24 elements in the microfossils); (2) detection of the pristine composition of microfossils and co-occurring fine chemistry (rare earth elements) requires utilization of the depth profiling measurement protocol; and (3) our results show that, for analysis of heterogeneous material from siliciclastic deposits, siliceous sinters, and cherts, the most suitable wavelength for laser ablation/Ionization is UV-258 nm.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Mary Ann Liebert, 2022. Vol. 22, no 4, p. 369-386
Keywords [en]
LIMS, Laser ablation ionization mass spectrometry, Microfossils, Gunflint chert, Space instrumentation
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-485171DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2201ISI: 000760743200001PubMedID: 35196459OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-485171DiVA, id: diva2:1697454
Funder
Swedish Research Council, FT140100321European Commission, 2017-05018Available from: 2022-09-20 Created: 2022-09-20 Last updated: 2022-09-20Bibliographically approved

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Publisher's full textPubMedhttps://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2019.2201

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Neubeck, Anna

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