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Biological activity at deep‐sea hydrothermal chimneys is driven by chemotrophic microorganisms that metabolize chemicals from the venting high‐temperature fluids. Understanding taphonomy and microbial microtextures in such environments is a necessity for micropaleontological and palaeoecological research. This study examines fossilized microorganisms and related microtextures in a recent black smoker from the Roman Ruins hydrothermal vent site, Eastern Manus Basin offshore of Papua New Guinea. Whereas the center of the examined sulfide chimney is dominated by high‐temperature mineralogy (chalcopyrite and dendritic sphalerite), filamentous and coccoidal biomorphs occur in an outer, warm zone of mixing between hydrothermal fluids and seawater, which is indicated by their occurrence within colloform and botryoidal pyrite of barite–pyrite coprecipitates. Both morphotypes can be interpreted as thermophilic microorganisms based on their occurrence in a high‐temperature habitat. Their separate (non‐commensal) occurrence hints at sensitivities to microenvironmental conditions, which is expectable for strong temperature, pH, and redox gradients at the walls of deep‐sea hydrothermal chimneys. Whereas both morphotypes experienced mild thermal overprint, taphonomic differences exist: (i) spaces left by cells in filamentous fossils are predominately filled by silica, whereas inter/extracellular features (crosswalls/septae and outer sheaths) are pyritized; (ii) coccoidal fossils show both silica‐ and pyrite‐infilled interiors, and generally better preservation of cell walls. These different manifestations presumably relate to an interplay between microenvironmental and biological factors, potentially contrasting metabolisms, and differences in cell wall chemistries of distinct bacteria and/or archaea. A further hypothesis is that the coccoidal features represent biofilm‐forming organisms, whose organic matter derivates contributed to the formation of intimately associated wavy and wrinkly carbonaceous laminations that are at least locally distinguishable from the texture of the surrounding pyrite. Hence, the presented data provide evidence that microtextures of microbiota from hydrothermal systems can have a similar significance for palaeobiological research as those from sedimentary environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shallow marine and subaerial sedimentary and hydrothermal rocks of the ~3.48 billion‐year‐old Dresser Formation are host to some of Earth's oldest stromatolites and microbial remains. This study reports on texturally distinctive, spherulitic barite micro‐mineralization that occur in association with primary, autochthonous organic matter within exceptionally preserved, strongly sulfidized stromatolite samples obtained from drill cores. Spherulitic barite micro‐mineralization within the sulfidized stromatolites generally forms submicron‐scale aggregates that show gradations from hollow to densely crystallized, irregular to partially radiating crystalline interiors. Several barite micro‐spherulites show thin outer shells. Within stromatolites, barite micro‐spherulites are intimately associated with petrographically earliest dolomite and nano‐porous pyrite enriched in organic matter, the latter of which is a possible biosignature assemblage that hosts microbial remains. Barite spherulites are also observed within layered barite in proximity to stromatolite layers, where they are overgrown by compositionally distinct (Sr‐rich), coarsely crystalline barite that may have been sourced from hydrothermal veins at depth. Micro‐spherulitic barite, such as reported here, is not known from hydrothermal systems that exceed the upper temperature limit for life. Rather, barite with near‐identical morphology and micro‐texture is known from zones of high bio‐productivity under low‐temperature conditions in the modern oceans, where microbial activity and/or organic matter of degrading biomass controls the formation of spherulitic aggregates. Hence, the presence of micro‐spherulitic barite in the organic matter‐bearing Dresser Formation sulfidized stromatolites lend further support for a biogenic origin of these unusual, exceptionally well‐preserved, and very ancient microbialites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Martian meteorites comprise mantle-derived mafic to ultramafic rocks that formed in shallow intrusions and/or lava flows. This study reports the first in situ platinum-group element data on chromite and ulvöspinel from a series of dunitic chassignites and olivine-phyric shergottites, determined using laser-ablation ICP- MS. As recent studies have shown that Ru has strongly contrasting affinities for coexisting sulfide and spinel phases, the precise in situ analysis of this element in spinel can provide important insights into the sulfide saturation history of Martian mantle-derived melts. The new data reveal distinctive differences between the two meteorite groups. Chromite from the chassignites Northwest Africa 2737 ( NWA 2737) and Chassigny contained detectable concentrations of Ru (up to ~160 ppb Ru) in solid solution, whereas chromite and ulvöspinel from the olivine-phyric shergottites Yamato-980459 (Y-980459), Tissint, and Dhofar 019 displayed Ru concentrations consistently below detection limit (<42 ppb). The relatively elevated Ru signatures of chromite from the chassignites suggest a Ru-rich (~1-4 ppb) parental melt for this meteorite group, which presumably did not experience segregation of immiscible sulfide liquids over the interval of mantle melting, melt ascent, and chromite crystallization. The relatively Ru-depleted signature of chromite and ulvöspinel from the olivine-phyric shergottites may be the consequence of relatively lower Ru contents (<1 ppb) in the parental melts, and/or the presence of sulfides during the crystallization of the spinel phases. The results of this study illustrate the significance of platinum-group element in situ analysis on spinel phases to decipher the sulfide saturation history of magmatic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]