Raman spectroscopy as a tool for the non-destructive identification of organic minerals in the geological record

Raman spectral signatures have been identified for mellite (the hydrated aluminium salt of benzene hexacarboxylic acid), the terpenoids fichtelite (norabietane) and hartite (α-phyllocladane), as well as for idrialite, a complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mineral. The survival of organic minerals such as oxalates, terpenoid hydrocarbons and aromatic minerals in the geological record is important for an appreciation of the diversity of molecular compounds that need to be assessed in the search for life detection signatures in terrestrial and extraterrestrial scenarios.