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Rio Tinto

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Chemical Formula

$$ 4\bullet {\mathrm{FeS}}_2\ \left(\mathrm{pyrite}\right)+3\bullet {\mathrm{O}}_2+10\bullet {\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\to 4\bullet \left[\mathrm{FeOOH}\right]\ \left(\mathrm{ferruginous}\ \mathrm{sediments}\right)+2\bullet {{\mathrm{SO}}_4}^{2-}+16\bullet {\mathrm{H}}^{+} $$
(1)
$$ {\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\leftrightarrow \mathrm{Fe}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}^{2+}+{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\, \left(\mathrm{chemical}\ \mathrm{buffer}\ \mathrm{controlled}\ \mathrm{by}\ {\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}\right) $$
(2)

Definition

Río Tinto is a 100-km-long acidic fluvial system (Fig. 1) emplaced in the IPB (Leistel et al. 1998) considered as a chemical environmental analog of Mars (Fernández-Remolar et al. 2005). Since the paleolithic (Mayoral et al. 2021), the Rio Tinto basin has been populated by different cultures and civilizations (chalcolithic, bronze, and iron), which have mined the rich metallic ore bodies for copper, silver, and gold for millennia. The fluvial system is...

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Abbreviations

IPB:

Iberian Pyrite Belt

IPBSL:

Iberian Pyrite Belt Subsurface Life

MARTE:

Mars Analog and Research Technology Experiment

References and Further Reading

  • Amils R, Fernandez Remolar D (2020) Rio Tinto: an extreme acidic environmental model of Astrobiological interest. In: Seckbach J, Stan-Lotter H (eds) Extremophiles as astrobiological models. Wiley, pp 21–44

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  • Amils R et al (2013) Iberian Pyrite Belt subsurface life (IPBSL), a drilling project of biohydrometallurgical interest. Adv Mater Res 825:15–18

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  • Ehlmann BL, Edwards CS (2014) Mineralogy of the Martian surface. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 42(1):291–315

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  • Essalhi M et al (2011) A case study of the internal structures of gossans and weathering processes in the Iberian Pyrite Belt using magnetic fabrics and paleomagnetic dating. Mineral Deposita 46(8):981–999

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  • Fernández-Remolar DC, Knoll AH (2008) Fossilization potential of iron-bearing minerals in acidic environments of Rio Tinto, Spain: implications for Mars exploration. Icarus 194:72–85

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  • Fernández-Remolar D, Rodríguez N, Gómez F, Amils R (2003) The geological record of an acidic environment driven by iron hydrochemistry: the Tinto River system. J Geophys Res 108(E7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JE001918

  • Fernández-Remolar DC, Morris RV, Gruener JE, Amils R, Knoll AH (2005) The Rio Tinto Basin, Spain: mineralogy, sedimentary geobiology, and implications for interpretation of outcrop rocks at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Earth Planet Sci Lett 240(1):149–167

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  • Fernández-Remolar DC et al (2008a) Some ecological mechanisms to generate habitability in planetary subsurface areas by Chemolithotrophic communities: the Río Tinto subsurface ecosystem as a model system. Astrobiology 8(1):157–173

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  • Fernández-Remolar DC et al (2008b) Underground habitats in the Río Tinto Basin: a model for subsurface life habitats on Mars. Astrobiology 8(5):1023–1047

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  • Fernández-Remolar DC, Banerjee N, Gómez-Ortiz D, Izawa M, Amils R (2018) A mineralogical archive of the biogeochemical sulfur cycle preserved in the subsurface of the Río Tinto system. Am Mineral 103:394–411

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  • Fernandez-Remolar DC et al. accepted. The molecular record of metabolic activity in the subsurface of the Rio Tinto Mars analog. Astrobiology

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  • Gómez F, Fernández-Remolar D, González-Toril EF, Amils R (2004) The Tinto River, an extreme Gaian environment. In: Margulis L, Miller J, Boston P, Schneider S, Crist E (eds) Scientist on Gaia 2000. MIT Press, Boston, pp 321–334

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  • Gómez-Ortiz D et al (2014) Identification of the subsurface sulfide bodies responsible for acidity in Río Tinto source water, Spain. Earth Planet Sci Lett 391:36–41

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, China

    David C. Fernandez-Remolar

  2. CNSA Macau Center for Space Exploration and Science, Macau, People’s Republic of China

    David C. Fernandez-Remolar

Authors
  1. David C. Fernandez-Remolar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David C. Fernandez-Remolar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  6. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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Fernandez-Remolar, D.C. (2022). Rio Tinto. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1379-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1379-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Rio Tinto
    Published:
    27 November 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1379-3

  2. Original

    Rio Tinto
    Published:
    16 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1379-2

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