2026-06-01T20:48:45Zhttps://riuma.uma.es/rest/oai/request

oai:riuma.uma.es:10630/287092026-02-03T11:03:29Zcom_10630_2254col_10630_37953

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Delgado-Pérez, Tomás author García-Gómez, Laura author Fortes-Román, Francisco Javier author Cabalín-Robles, Luisa María author Liñán-Baena, Cristina author Vadillo-Pérez, Iñaki author Jiménez-Gavilán, Pablo author Ojeda, Lucía author Laserna-Vázquez, José Javier author 2024-01-06 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. 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. https://hdl.handle.net/10630/28709 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.125639 Química analítica Geología Discriminating organic carbon from endokarstic moonmilk-type deposits by LIBS. The case of a natural carbonated Martian analogue