Analogue Sites for Mars Missions (2011)

6007.pdf

The Cuatro Cienegas Basin in Coahuila, Mexico: An Astrobiological Precambrian Park and Mars Analogue V. Souza1*, J. Siefert2, J. J. Elser3 and L. E. Eguiarte1.
1

Departamento de Ecologa Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecologa, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, AP 70-275, CP 04510, Mexico DF. Mexico. 2Department of Statistics, Rice University, Houston Texas, USA. 3School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. Introduction: The candidate mission MSL 2018 has targeted four landing sites.One of them, Gale crater appears to have recorded a diverse stratigraphy in a well defined mound that may likely reflect deposition during dynamic environmental conditions. Additionally, it has been postulated that biosignatures may be preserved in the sulfate bearing strata in the mound. Herein we describe the parallel ecological parameters and the astrobiological research at our site that make the environmental phenomenon of Gale crater the most analogous MLS target to Cuatro Cienegas Basin. The Cuatro Cienegas Basin (CCB) is an oasis in the Chihuahuan desert in the state of Coahuila in the North of Mexico. Despite the arid climate, the CCB harbors an extensive system of springs, streams, and pools of significant scientific interest. It presents an extreme elemental stoichiometry with regards to phosphorus, (900:150:115820:157:1 C:N:P ratio) 1, 9 when compared to similar environments. Its spring-fed ecosystems are dominated by microbial mats and living stromatolitic features (see figure 1) supported by an aquatic sulfur cycle and a terrestrial gypsum based ecology in large parts of the valley1. Our work there indicates that the microbial lineages of the site carry a signature of an ancient marine ancestry in their genomes2-8 and understanding the link between this signal and the palogeochemistry of the oasis is a current focus of our research. These unique biosignatures, the abundance of fossil and living microbialites, the geologic history, and the biodiversity make CCB interesting for Astrobiology. Moreover, molecular clock studies on the genomes of Bacillus and Exiguobacteria as well as Cyanboacteria from CCB demonstrate that many species from Cuatro Ciengas have diverged from related true marine species in the late Proterozoic.7, 8 It is our inference that CCB represents an extant ecological time machine suggestive of earlier times in Earths history and by extension, other similar

Analogue Sites for Mars Missions (2011)

6007.pdf

extraterrestrial planet bodies during their paleoecological past. One of the primary research concerns of the CCB team is to understand in broad terms how microbial life colonizes, adapts and diversifies. Our ultimate goal is to use CCB to provide empirically generated rules of microbial evolution that can be extrapolated to alternative ecologies. As results are tallied, we are continually refining our system of rules of coexistence in the bacterial communities of CCB. Special attention is given to descriptive and chemical biosignatures that are evidenced by the adaptive response to the geologic environment. The ability to extrapolate, even in first order terms, the adaptive potential of earth based microbial life provides a platform on which to consider the profoundly different evolutionary trajectory from Earth to sister planets such as Mars.

Table 1 Site Name

CUATRO CIENEGAS COAHUILA 2659N 10203W 740 masl 40 km by 30 km How early life on Earth survived, diversified and changed the destiny of the planet? 4 km. Max temp:55 C Min temp: -2 C Precipitation: 150 mm Vegetation coverage:30% gypsophylic shrubs, and halophyle grass

Center Coordinate Elevation Areal Extent Prime Science Questions

Distance to road Environmental characteristics

Mission Description: Gale crater as a primary MSL target has been chosen due to the mound and moat Previous studies 10 years of preservation and the accompanying stratigraphy that at analogue site research and 15 publications indicates the fluvial system was supplied by underground hydrologic sources. All of these Primary Landing Gale crater(17) considerations can be informed by the CCB Site Target analogue site presented herein. A more far ranging Other Any other items of goal of the MSL and subsequent sampling initiatives interest involve the exploration to determine the presence, precedent, or absence of microbial life as Gale crater and the efforts at CCB are easily extrapolated to provide an exploratory platform for this discovery.

Science Merit Related to Mission Objectives: The CCB presents a dynamic hydrologic system. Over roughly 11,000 years, the oasis valley floor records waxing and waning of many spring fed pool systems, as well as multiple sites where evaporative systems have come and gone. Additionally, a more ancient geologic history indicates that CCB was at the very nexus of the breaking apart of Pangea that created what we now know as the Northern hemisphere 220 million years ago. Much later CCB became isolated from the sea with the subsequent uplifting of the Sierra Madre Oriental, roughly ~35 million years ago.11 It is possible that the CCB was not buried by the normal succession of new sediments and this in turn suggests that the ancient microbial mats may have survived these changes as they became isolated from their original marine

Analogue Sites for Mars Missions (2011)

6007.pdf

source. 2, 12, 13 Therefore in the MSL/Mars 2018 mission it should be possible to view the Gale crater candidate landing site as more similar to CCB with regards to the dynamics of the geology. We propose that there may be sites similar to CCB where evaporitic processes might indicate the presence of past water and where it would be feasible to look for evidences of rudimentary microbial mats, i.e., banded structures with isotopic anomalies. Most Important Question Answered by Site: CCB provides a living laboratory in which a diverse group of scientists have the opportunity to understand microbial evolution in concert with its environment. The ability to directly and empirically evaluate these processes provides the definition for rules and adaptation of earth based microbial populations and provides a definition and estimation of the veracity for biosignatures extra terrestrially. These biosignatures are part of a much larger astrobiological definition effort involving the Virtual Planet Laboratory at U Washington and the ASU Follow the Elements team. Interestingly, the success of the collaborative efforts at CCB by geochemists, geologists, ecologists, and population biologists directly impacts the teams ability to interact with mission specialists in a way that makes crossing disciplinary boundaries and impacting mission outcomes in a positive way. Logistic and Environmental Constraints: CCB is in the center of the Chihuahuan desert and can be accessed by several routes using international air carriers and land vehicles. Transportation involves air carrier to Monterrey or Saltillo. Overland vehicles complete the route to CCB in 4.5 hours from both airports. Travel directly from Houston through Piedras Negras (Coah, Mx) can be accomplished in roughly 10 hours. The charming town has a population of 10,000 people, has hotels, restaurants and modern amenities such as reliable cell phone connection and WiFi. The field sites are 30km in average from the town. CCB has similar weather as Phoenix. The Mexican team has all the collecting permits in order and has extended its permits to the international collaborators without problem.
References [1] Elser, J.J., et al. (2005) Fresheater Biology 50: 1808-1825.[2] Souza,V. et al. (2006).PNAS. 103, 6565-6570 [3] Alcaraz, L.D. et al. (2008) PNAS,105, 5803-5808. [4] Alcaraz, L. D. et al. (2010). BMC Genomics on line[5] Desnues C.M. et al. (2008) Nature 452, 340-343.[6] Breitbart,M. et al. (2009) Environ Microbiol. 11, 16-34.[7] Moreno-Letelier, et al. (2011) International Journal of Evolutionary Biology on line. [8] Domnguez-Escobar (2011). FEMS Microbiology Letters, on line.[9] Peimbert, M in corrections to be submitted to Astrobiology.[10] Papineau D, (2010). Astrobiology 10 (2), DOI: 10.1089=ast.2009.0360.[11] Ferrusqua-Villafranca,(1998). In Ramamoorthy et al. (eds) UNAM, Mxico.[12] Minckley, T., and Jackson, S. (2008) Journal of Biogeography 35: 188-190[13] Wilson J. S and Pitts J. P. (2010). Progress in Physical Geography. on line: [14] Winsborough B, et al. (2008) University of Texas. [15] Carson, E.W. et al. (2008). Copeia 4.[16] Escalante, A.E., et al. (2008) FEMS Microbiol Ecol 65: 50-60.[17] Szynkiewicza et al., (2009) Geomorphology 121: 69-83.