Deep hydrous mantle reservoir provides evidence for crustal recycling before 3.3 billion years ago.

Water strongly influences the physical properties of the mantle and enhances its ability to melt or convect. Its presence can also be used to trace recycling of surface reservoirs down to the deep mantle1, which makes knowledge of the water content in the Earth's interior and its evolution crucial for understanding global geodynamics. Komatiites (MgO-rich ultramafic magmas) result from a high degree of mantle melting at high pressures2 and thus are excellent probes of the chemical composition and water contents of the deep mantle. An excess of water over elements that show similar geochemical behaviour during mantle melting (for example, cerium) was recently found in melt inclusions in the most magnesium-rich olivine in 2.7-billion-year-old komatiites from Canada3 and Zimbabwe4. These data were taken as evidence for a deep hydrated mantle reservoir, probably the transition zone, in the Neoarchaean era (2.8 to 2.5 billion years ago). Here we confirm the mantle source of this water by measuring deuterium-to-hydrogen ratios in these melt inclusions and present similar data for 3.3-billion-year-old komatiites from the Barberton greenstone belt. From the hydrogen isotope ratios, we show that the mantle sources of these melts contained excess water, which implies that a deep hydrous mantle reservoir has been present in the Earth's interior since at least the Palaeoarchaean era (3.6 to 3.2 billion years ago). The reconstructed initial hydrogen isotope composition of komatiites is more depleted in deuterium than surface reservoirs or typical mantle but resembles that of oceanic crust that was initially altered by seawater and then dehydrated during subduction. Together with an excess of chlorine and depletion of lead in the mantle sources of komatiites, these results indicate that seawater-altered lithosphere recycling into the deep mantle, arguably by subduction, started before 3.3 billion years ago.

Convective isolation of Hadean mantle reservoirs through Archean time.

Although Earth has a convecting mantle, ancient mantle reservoirs that formed within the first 100 Ma of Earth's history (Hadean Eon) appear to have been preserved through geologic time. Evidence for this is based on small anomalies of isotopes such as 182W, 142Nd, and 129Xe that are decay products of short-lived nuclide systems. Studies of such short-lived isotopes have typically focused on geological units with a limited age range and therefore only provide snapshots of regional mantle heterogeneities. Here we present a dataset for short-lived 182Hf-182W (half-life 9 Ma) in a comprehensive rock suite from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The samples analyzed preserve a unique geological archive covering 800 Ma of Archean history. Pristine 182W signatures that directly reflect the W isotopic composition of parental sources are only preserved in unaltered mafic samples with near canonical W/Th (0.07 to 0.26). Early Paleoarchean, mafic igneous rocks from the East Pilbara Terrane display a uniform pristine µ182W excess of 12.6 ± 1.4 ppm. From ca 3.3Ga onward, the pristine 182W signatures progressively vanish and are only preserved in younger rocks of the craton that tap stabilized ancient lithosphere. Given that the anomalous 182W signature must have formed by ca 4.5 Ga, the mantle domain that was tapped by magmatism in the Pilbara Craton must have been convectively isolated for nearly 1.2 Ga. This finding puts lower bounds on timescale estimates for localized convective homogenization in early Earth's interior and on the widespread emergence of plate tectonics that are both important input parameters in many physical models.

Global variability in seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios in the modern ocean.

Seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios are biogeochemical parameters reflecting the Earth-ocean-atmosphere dynamic exchange of elements. The ratios' dependence on the environment and organisms' biology facilitates their application in marine sciences. Here, we present a measured single-laboratory dataset, combined with previous data, to test the assumption of limited seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca variability across marine environments globally. High variability was found in open-ocean upwelling and polar regions, shelves/neritic and river-influenced areas, where seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios range from ∼4.40 to 6.40 mmol:mol and ∼6.95 to 9.80 mmol:mol, respectively. Open-ocean seawater Mg:Ca is semiconservative (∼4.90 to 5.30 mol:mol), while Sr:Ca is more variable and nonconservative (∼7.70 to 8.80 mmol:mol); both ratios are nonconservative in coastal seas. Further, the Ca, Mg, and Sr elemental fluxes are connected to large total alkalinity deviations from International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) standard values. Because there is significant modern seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios variability across marine environments we cannot absolutely assume that fossil archives using taxa-specific proxies reflect true global seawater chemistry but rather taxa- and process-specific ecosystem variations, reflecting regional conditions. This variability could reconcile secular seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratio reconstructions using different taxa and techniques by assuming an error of 1 to 1.50 mol:mol, and 1 to 1.90 mmol:mol, respectively. The modern ratios' variability is similar to the reconstructed rise over 20 Ma (Neogene Period), nurturing the question of seminonconservative behavior of Ca, Mg, and Sr over modern Earth geological history with an overlooked environmental effect.

Claudin-10a Deficiency Shifts Proximal Tubular Cl- Permeability to Cation Selectivity via Claudin-2 Redistribution.

BACKGROUND: The tight junction proteins claudin-2 and claudin-10a form paracellular cation and anion channels, respectively, and are expressed in the proximal tubule. However, the physiologic role of claudin-10a in the kidney has been unclear. METHODS: To investigate the physiologic role of claudin-10a, we generated claudin-10a-deficient mice, confirmed successful knockout by Southern blot, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining, and analyzed urine and serum of knockout and wild-type animals. We also used electrophysiologic studies to investigate the functionality of isolated proximal tubules, and studied compensatory regulation by pharmacologic intervention, RNA sequencing analysis, Western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and respirometry. RESULTS: Mice deficient in claudin-10a were fertile and without overt phenotypes. On knockout, claudin-10a was replaced by claudin-2 in all proximal tubule segments. Electrophysiology showed conversion from paracellular anion preference to cation preference and a loss of paracellular Cl- over HCO3- preference. As a result, there was tubular retention of calcium and magnesium, higher urine pH, and mild hypermagnesemia. A comparison with other urine and serum parameters under control conditions and sequential pharmacologic transport inhibition, and unchanged fractional lithium excretion, suggested compensative measures in proximal and distal tubular segments. Changes in proximal tubular oxygen handling and differential expression of genes regulating fatty acid metabolism indicated proximal tubular adaptation. Western blot and immunofluorescence revealed alterations in distal tubular transport. CONCLUSIONS: Claudin-10a is the major paracellular anion channel in the proximal tubule and its deletion causes calcium and magnesium hyper-reabsorption by claudin-2 redistribution. Transcellular transport in proximal and distal segments and proximal tubular metabolic adaptation compensate for loss of paracellular anion permeability.

Komatiites reveal a hydrous Archaean deep-mantle reservoir.

Archaean komatiites (ultramafic lavas) result from melting under extreme conditions of the Earth's mantle. Their chemical compositions evoke very high eruption temperatures, up to 1,600 degrees Celsius, which suggests even higher temperatures in their mantle source. This message is clouded, however, by uncertainty about the water content in komatiite magmas. One school of thought holds that komatiites were essentially dry and originated in mantle plumes while another argues that these magmas contained several per cent water, which drastically reduced their eruption temperature and links them to subduction processes. Here we report measurements of the content of water and other volatile components, and of major and trace elements in melt inclusions in exceptionally magnesian olivine (up to 94.5 mole per cent forsterite). This information provides direct estimates of the composition and crystallization temperature of the parental melts of Archaean komatiites. We show that the parental melt for 2.7-billion-year-old komatiites from the Abitibi greenstone belt in Canada contained 30 per cent magnesium oxide and 0.6 per cent water by weight, and was depleted in highly incompatible elements. This melt began to crystallize at around 1,530 degrees Celsius at shallow depth and under reducing conditions, and it evolved via fractional crystallization of olivine, accompanied by minor crustal assimilation. As its major- and trace-element composition and low oxygen fugacities are inconsistent with a subduction setting, we propose that its high H2O/Ce ratio (over 6,000) resulted from entrainment into the komatiite source of hydrous material from the mantle transition zone. These results confirm a plume origin for komatiites and high Archaean mantle temperatures, and evoke a hydrous reservoir in the deep mantle early in Earth's history.

Structural characterisation and degradation of Mg-Li thin films for biodegradable implants.

Freestanding thin films of Mg-Li (magnesium-lithium) alloys with a Li mass fraction between 1.6% (m/m) and 9.5% (m/m) were prepared and studied with respect to their structure and degradation properties. With increasing Li content, the microstructure deviates from hexagonal Mg-Li with strict columnar growth and preferred orientation, and additional cubic Mg-Li and Li2CO3 occur. The corrosion rate was measured in Hanks' balanced salt solution by potentiodynamic polarisation and weight loss measurements to investigate biodegradation. Influences of the orientation, phase and protective layer formation lead to an increase in corrosion from 1.6 to 5.5% (m/m) from 0.13 ± 0.03 to 0.67 ± 0.29 mm/year when measured by potentiodynamic polarisation but a similar corrosion rate for 9.5% (m/m) and 3% (m/m) of Li of 0.27 ± 0.07 mm/year and 0.26 ± 0.05 mm/year.

Microbial ecosystem assessment and hydrogen oxidation potential of newly discovered vent systems from the Central and South-East Indian Ridge.

In order to expand the knowledge of microbial ecosystems from deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems located on the Central and South-East Indian Ridge, we sampled hydrothermal fluids, massive sulfides, ambient water and sediments of six distinct vent fields. Most of these vent sites were only recently discovered in the course of the German exploration program for massive sulfide deposits and no previous studies of the respective microbial communities exist. Apart from typically vent-associated chemosynthetic members of the orders Campylobacterales, Mariprofundales, and Thiomicrospirales, high numbers of uncultured and unspecified Bacteria were identified via 16S rRNA gene analyses in hydrothermal fluid and massive sulfide samples. The sampled sediments however, were characterized by an overall lack of chemosynthetic Bacteria and the presence of high proportions of low abundant bacterial groups. The archaeal communities were generally less diverse and mostly dominated by members of Nitrosopumilales and Woesearchaeales, partly exhibiting high proportions of unassigned Archaea. Correlations with environmental parameters were primarily observed for sediment communities and for microbial species (associated with the nitrogen cycle) in samples from a recently identified vent field, which was geochemically distinct from all other sampled sites. Enrichment cultures of diffuse fluids demonstrated a great potential for hydrogen oxidation coupled to the reduction of various electron-acceptors with high abundances of Hydrogenovibrio and Sulfurimonas species. Overall, given the large number of currently uncultured and unspecified microorganisms identified in the vent communities, their respective metabolic traits, ecosystem functions and mediated biogeochemical processes have still to be resolved for estimating consequences of potential environmental disturbances by future mining activities.

Coastal El Niño triggers rapid marine silicate alteration on the seafloor.

Marine silicate alteration plays a key role in the global carbon and cation cycles, although the timeframe of this process in response to extreme weather events is poorly understood. Here we investigate surface sediments across the Peruvian margin before and after extreme rainfall and runoff (coastal El Niño) using Ge/Si ratios and laser-ablated solid and pore fluid Si isotopes (δ30Si). Pore fluids following the rainfall show elevated Ge/Si ratios (2.87 µmol mol-1) and δ30Si values (3.72‰), which we relate to rapid authigenic clay formation from reactive terrigenous minerals delivered by continental runoff. This study highlights the direct coupling of terrestrial erosion and associated marine sedimentary processes. We show that marine silicate alteration can be rapid and highly dynamic in response to local weather conditions, with a potential impact on marine alkalinity and CO2-cycling on short timescales of weeks to months, and thus element turnover on human time scales.

Mid-Holocene expansion of the Indian Ocean warm pool documented in coral Sr/Ca records from Kenya.

Proxy reconstructions suggest that mid-Holocene East African temperatures were warmer than today between 8 and 5 ka BP, but climate models cannot replicate this warming. Precessional forcing caused a shift of maximum insolation from boreal spring to fall in the mid-Holocene, which may have favored intense warming at the start of the warm season. Here, we use three Porites corals from Kenya that represent time windows from 6.55 to 5.87 ka BP to reconstruct past sea surface temperature (SST) seasonality from coral Sr/Ca ratios in the western Indian Ocean during the mid-Holocene. Although the Indian monsoon was reportedly stronger in the mid-Holocene, which should have amplified the seasonal cycle of SST in the western Indian Ocean, the corals suggest reduced seasonality (mean 3.2 °C) compared to the modern record (mean 4.3 °C). Warming in austral spring is followed by a prolonged period of warm SSTs, suggesting that an upper limit of tropical SSTs under mid-Holocene conditions was reached at the start of the warm season, and SSTs then remained stable. Similar changes are seen at the Seychelles. Bootstrap estimates suggest a reduction in SST seasonality of 1.3 ± 0.22 °C at Kenya and 1.7 ± 0.32 °C at the Seychelles. SST seasonality at Kenya corresponds to present-day SST seasonality at 55° E-60° E, while SST seasonality at the Seychelles corresponds to present day SST seasonality at ~ 65° E. This implies a significant westward expansion of the Indian Ocean warm pool. Furthermore, the coral data suggests that SST seasonality deviates from seasonal changes in orbital insolation due to ocean-atmosphere interactions.

The mitochondrial Amidoxime Reducing Component (mARC) is involved in detoxification of N-hydroxylated base analogues.

The "mitochondrial Amidoxime Reducing Component" (mARC) is the newly discovered fourth molybdenum enzyme in mammals. All hitherto analyzed mammals express two mARC proteins, referred to as mARC1 and mARC2. Together with their electron transport proteins cytochrome b(5) and NADH cytochrome b(5) reductase, they form a three-component enzyme system and catalyze the reduction of N-hydroxylated prodrugs. Here, we demonstrate the reductive detoxification of toxic and mutagenic N-hydroxylated nucleobases and their corresponding nucleosides by the mammalian mARC-containing enzyme system. The N-reductive activity was found in all tested tissues with the highest detectable conversion rates in liver, kidney, thyroid, and pancreas. According to the presumed localization, the N-reductive activity is most pronounced in enriched mitochondrial fractions. In vitro assays with the respective recombinant three-component enzyme system show that both mARC isoforms are able to reduce N-hydroxylated base analogues, with mARC1 representing the more efficient isoform. On the basis of the high specific activities with N-hydroxylated base analogues relative to other N-hydroxylated substrates, our data suggest that mARC proteins might be involved in protecting cellular DNA from misincorporation of toxic N-hydroxylated base analogues during replication by converting them to the correct purine or pyrimidine bases, respectively.