EXTREMOPHILE ECOSYSTEM STUDIES: LINKS BETWEEN GEOBIOLOGY AND ASTROBIOLOGY

A central theme in geobiology research is the focus on elucidation of those interactions between biological and geological processes that have occurred throughout Earth history. Significant advances in this regard continue to be made, as demonstrated in talks given throughout this Pardee Keynote Symposium. Astrobiology research is founded on the search for life beyond Earth, and results from ongoing international lander and orbital missions to Mars continue to refine astrobiology search strategies. This includes the targeting of deposits that represent potentially habitable environments with high preservation potential. The study of modern environments that host extremophiles and have high biosignature preservation potential link geobiology and astrobiology: such environments are likely to have been widespread on early Earth and, potentially, on Mars. Key results from studies of modern extremophile ecosystems––particularly those dominated by chemical deposition––which have improved our ability to recognize and characterize potential biosignatures in martian samples will be presented.