Ancient Microorganisms and Carotenoids Preserved in Fluid Inclusions in Halite from Chaka Salt Lake, Western China: Evidence from Micro-observation and in situ Raman Spectroscopy
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We are grateful to Prof. Zhou Yaoqi and Prof. Jin Qiang for insightful discussions. We also thank Associate Editor Chi Guoxiang and one anonymous reviewer for thoughtful comments and suggestions that improved the final version of the study. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41873070, U1762108 and 41172111). Dr. Susan Turner assisted with English language.

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    Abstract:

    Trapped ancient microorganisms in halite fluid inclusions are of special interest to the understanding of biology and ecology in salt lake systems. With the integration of petrologic, microthermometric, and Raman spectroscopic analyses, this study utilizes fluid inclusions from Chaka Salt Lake, eastern Qaidam Basin, NW China, to assess the possibility of microorganism-trapping by fluid inclusions. Here, we report that the solid phase of some primary fluid inclusions contains carotenoids, which is interpreted as evidence of Dunaliella algae, and that the coexisting liquid phase comprises SO42?. The homogenization temperatures of single-phase primary fluid inclusions indicate that the precipitation temperature of the Holocene halite in Chaka Salt Lake ranges from 13.5°C to 36.4°C. This suggests that fluid inclusions in halite are a good medium for trapping and preserving ancient microorganisms and organic matter in salt lakes, and that Raman spectroscopy has good potential to identify halophilic archaea.

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CHEN Yong, WANG Jiuyuan, ZHOU Zhenzhu, CHEN Xiaolan, ZHAO Zhenyu, SHI Peng, HAN Yun.2021. Ancient Microorganisms and Carotenoids Preserved in Fluid Inclusions in Halite from Chaka Salt Lake, Western China: Evidence from Micro-observation and in situ Raman Spectroscopy[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica(),95(3):1008-1015

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History
  • Received:August 14,2019
  • Revised:January 01,2020
  • Adopted:
  • Online: June 23,2021
  • Published: