RT Journal Article
T1 Discriminating organic carbon from endokarstic moonmilk-type deposits by LIBS. The case of a natural carbonated Martian analogue
A1 Delgado-Pérez, Tomás
A1 García-Gómez, Laura
A1 Fortes-Román, Francisco Javier
A1 Cabalín-Robles, Luisa María
A1 Liñán-Baena, Cristina
A1 Vadillo-Pérez, Iñaki
A1 Jiménez-Gavilán, Pablo
A1 Ojeda, Lucía
A1 Laserna-Vázquez, José Javier
K1 Química analítica
K1 Geología
AB Moonmilk-type deposits exemplify carbonated Martian analogues existing in the subsurface of Earth, an endokarstic speleothem with a possible biochemical origin composed principally by carbonates, mainly huntite and dolomite. In this work, samples of moonmilk located in Nerja Cave (southern Spain) have been studied by LIBS with the aim of identifying carbon of biogenic origin by establishing a relationship between a molecular emission indicator, CN signal, and the organic carbon content. The characterization of this kind of carbonate deposit with a multiple mineralogical composition has been completed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction techniques for qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis. The information attained from LIBS regarding energy thresholds and time-resolved kinetics of CN emissions provides useful insight into the identification of different molecular emitters, namely organic and inorganic CN, depending on the laser irradiance and time settings conditions. These promising results are of application in the search and identification of biosignatures in upcoming planetary missions with astrobiological purposes.
PB Elsevier
YR 2024
FD 2024-01-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/28709
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/28709
LA eng
NO T. Delgado, L. García-Gómez, F.J. Fortes, L.M. Cabalín, C. Liñán, I. Vadillo, P. Jiménez-Gavilán, L. Ojeda, J.J. Laserna, Discriminating organic carbon from endokarstic moonmilk-type deposits by LIBS. The case of a natural carbonated Martian analogue, Talanta, Volume 271, 2024, 125639, ISSN 0039-9140, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2024.125639.
NO Funding for open Access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA.This work was supported by Project PID2020-119185 GB-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain. L. García-Gómez grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for the concession of an FPI grant.
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 21 ene 2026