• journal_title：Geology
• Contributor：Neil R. Banerjee ; Antonio Simonetti ; Harald Furnes ; Karlis Muehlenbachs ; Hubert Staudigel ; Larry Heaman ; Martin J. Van Kranendonk
• Publisher：Geological Society of America
• Date：2007-
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.1130/G23534A.1
• journal_abbrev：Geology
• issn：0091-7613
• volume：35
• issue：6
• firstpage：487

Well-preserved Archean pillow lavas from the ca. 3.35 Ga Euro Basalt of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, contain micron-sized tubular structures mineralized by titanite (CaTiSiO₄) with residual organic carbon preserved along their margins. Direct U-Pb dating of titanite in the tubular structures demonstrates an Archean age. These tubular microstructures are identical to microbial ichnofossils in modern basalts, ophiolites, and greenstone belts, and are interpreted as a biogenic signature in these ancient rocks. Microbial colonization of basaltic glass thus appears to have been part of a deep subsurface biosphere established early in Earth's history.