Decomposition of sodium formate and L- and D-alanine in the Pampas de La Joya soils: Implications as a new geochemical analogue to Martian regolith

The organic compounds on the Martian surface are still undetectable by the previous Viking mission that has been sent to Mars even though they are expected to be there by exogenous and/or endogenous synthesis. The high abiotic reactivity has been the most acceptable explanation for the apparently absence of organic matter in the regolith.Earth soils that have geochemical properties similar to those expected on the surface of Mars could help to decipher this question on the surface and shallow subsurface of the Red Planet. This work aims to demonstrate that the place known as the Pampas de La Joya desert in southern Peru, contains soils that have nonbiological chemical decomposition mechanisms of organic compounds under conditions of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment (LRx). We compare the organic decomposition kinetics of these hyper-arid soils with those seen in samples from arid and semiarid regions of the Atacama Desert, and data obtained by Viking LRx in the Martian regolith. 13Carbon-labeled organic compounds (sodium formate, D-, and L-alanine) were added in aqueous solution to different soil samples in order to analyze the evolved carbon dioxide (13CO2) generated during their degradation. As expected, there were significant differences in the evolved gas behavior between soil samples under similar experimental conditions. When sodium formate was added to hyper-arid samples, there was a peak of 13CO2 gas released demonstrating high oxidation activity in the soil. Heat treatment of soil samples did not completely eliminate the CO2 production. An increase in the decomposition rates ∼7 days after the first addition of organics showed a response consistent with biological activity. The addition of D- and L-alanine demonstrated that the production of 13CO2 due to biological decomposition began 5–8 days after incubation. Our results suggest that these soils from Pampas de La Joya present at least two types of oxidants, a thermostable one which is highly oxidative and survives heat-treatment, and other thermolabile oxidant which has light or moderate oxidizing activity and does not survives to the heat-treatment. So far the nature of oxidant(s) present in these soils is still unknown.