Isotopic evidence of acetate turnover in the Precambrian continental crust

Isotopic evidence of acetate turnover in the Precambrian continental crust | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Isotopic evidence of acetate turnover in the Precambrian continental crust Elliott Mueller, Juliann Panehal, Min Song, Christian Hansen, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3722826/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The deep continental crust represents a vast potential habitat for microbial life where its activity remains poorly constrained. A common characteristic of these ecosystems is the presence of organic acids like acetate, but the role of these molecules in the subsurface carbon cycle - including the mechanism and rate of their turnover - is still unclear. Here, we developed an isotope-exchange ‘clock’ based on the temperature-dependent abiotic equilibration of H-isotopes between acetate’s methyl-group and water, which can be used to define the maximum in situ residence time for acetate. We applied this technique to the fracture fluids in Birchtree and Kidd Creek mines within the Canadian Precambrian crust. At both sites, we found isotopic disequilibrium between acetate and water, indicating acetate residence times <1 million years and a rate of turnover that could theoretically support microbial life. However, radiolytic water-rock reactions could also contribute to acetate production and degradation, a process that would have global relevance for the deep biosphere. More broadly, our study demonstrates that isotope-exchange clocks can constrain in situ residence times of biomolecules with possible applications to other environments. Earth and environmental sciences/Biogeochemistry/Carbon cycle Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Stable isotope analysis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SubsurfaceAcetateSIFINAL.pdf Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3722826","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":276094628,"identity":"a624197d-a188-44d1-9bb5-9c14776b8273","order_by":0,"name":"Elliott 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