Evidence from fluid inclusions for microbial methanogenesis in the early Archaean era

Yuichiro Ueno (), Keita Yamada, Naohiro Yoshida, Shigenori Maruyama and Yukio Isozaki
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Yuichiro Ueno: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Keita Yamada: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Naohiro Yoshida: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Shigenori Maruyama: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Yukio Isozaki: University of Tokyo

Nature, 2006, vol. 440, issue 7083, 516-519

Abstract: Methanogens arrive early Methanogenic microbes are thought to be ancient organisms, but it is uncertain when they first appeared on Earth. New results suggest that fluid inclusions found in 3.5-billion-year-old rock samples from the Pilbara craton in Western Australia contain methane that was produced by microbes. This is the earliest evidence for the presence of methanogens, predating previous geochemical evidence by about 700 million years. It represents one of the earliest microbial processes identified in the geological record and suggests that methanogens may have played a role in regulating the climate on the Archaean Earth.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04584

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