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While features of some ancient apparent stromatolites are suggestive of biological activity, others possess features that are more consistent with abiotic (non-biological) precipitation. [17] Finding reliable ways to distinguish between biologically formed and abiotic stromatolites is an active area of research in geology.
In moist conditions mats are usually held together by slimy substances secreted by the microorganisms. In many cases some of the bacteria form tangled webs of filaments which make the mat tougher. The best known physical forms are flat mats and stubby pillars called stromatolites, but there are also spherical forms.
The lack of many well-preserved stromatolites has been proposed as a consequence of ongoing diagenesis during formation. [5] Diagenesis is a weathering process where newly deposited sediments lies on top of the old sedimentary bed, buried and compacted, lithified and uplifted to the surface as sedimentary rocks.
The stromatolites found today are almost all carbonate rocks (made of limestone), but these structures are mostly composed of the minerals gypsum and halite (rock salt), Hynek said.
Chlorophyll f was announced to be present in cyanobacteria and other oxygenic microorganisms that form stromatolites in 2010; [13] [14] a molecular formula of C 55 H 70 O 6 N 4 Mg and a structure of (2-formyl)-chlorophyll a were deduced based on NMR, optical and mass spectra. [15]
Stromatolitic: microbialite layered, laminated or agglutinated to form a stromatolite. Thrombolitic: microbialite with a clotted peloidal fabric if observed with a petrographic microscope. The density of peloids is variable. At the scale of the hand sample, the rock shows a dendritic fabric, and can be named thrombolite.
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Pages in category "Stromatolites" The following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...