FN Archimer Export Format
PT J
TI Low 13C-13C abundances in abiotic ethane
BT 
AF Taguchi, Koudai
   Gilbert, Alexis
   Sherwood Lollar, Barbara
   Giunta, Thomas
   Boreham, Christopher J.
   Liu, Qi
   Horita, Juske
   Ueno, Yuichiro
AS 1:1;2:1,2;3:3,4;4:3,5;5:6;6:7;7:8;8:1,2,9;
FF 1:;2:;3:;4:PDG-REM-GEOOCEAN-CYBER;5:;6:;7:;8:;
C1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8551, Japan
   Earth-Life Science Institute (WPI-ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
   Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada
   Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP), Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
   Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, Geo-Ocean, F-29280, Plouzané, France
   Geoscience Australia, Canberra, ACT, PO Box 378, 2601, Australia
   State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, China
   Department of Geosciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA
   Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan
C2 UNIV TOKYO, JAPAN
   UNIV TOKYO, JAPAN
   UNIV TORONTO, CANADA
   UNIV PARIS CITE, FRANCE
   IFREMER, FRANCE
   GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA
   CHINESE ACAD SCI, CHINA
   UNIV TEXAS, USA
   JAMSTEC, JAPAN
SI BREST
SE PDG-REM-GEOOCEAN-CYBER
UM GEO-OCEAN
IN WOS Ifremer UMR
   DOAJ
   copubli-france
   copubli-univ-france
   copubli-int-hors-europe
   copubli-sud
IF 16.6
TC 3
UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00796/90766/96376.pdf
   https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00796/90766/96377.pdf
   https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00796/90766/96378.pdf
LA English
DT Article
AB Distinguishing biotic compounds from abiotic ones is important in resource geology, biogeochemistry, and the search for life in the universe. Stable isotopes have traditionally been used to discriminate the origins of organic materials, with particular focus on hydrocarbons. However, despite extensive efforts, unequivocal distinction of abiotic hydrocarbons remains challenging. Recent development of clumped-isotope analysis provides more robust information because it is independent of the stable isotopic composition of the starting material. Here, we report data from a 13C-13C clumped-isotope analysis of ethane and demonstrate that the abiotically-synthesized ethane shows distinctively low 13C-13C abundances compared to thermogenic ethane. A collision frequency model predicts the observed low 13C-13C abundances (anti-clumping) in ethane produced from methyl radical recombination. In contrast, thermogenic ethane presumably exhibits near stochastic 13C-13C distribution inherited from the biological precursor, which undergoes C-C bond cleavage/recombination during metabolism. Further, we find an exceptionally high 13C-13C signature in ethane remaining after microbial oxidation. In summary, the approach distinguishes between thermogenic, microbially altered, and abiotic hydrocarbons. The 13C-13C signature can provide an important step forward for discrimination of the origin of organic molecules on Earth and in extra-terrestrial environments. 
PY 2022
PD OCT
SO Nature Communications
SN 2041-1723
PU Springer Science and Business Media LLC
VL 13
IS 1
UT 000864344500018
DI 10.1038/s41467-022-33538-9
ID 90766
ER

EF