Selected Publications

Abstract:   Signatures of microbial life in shallow evaporite systems
are discussed using examples from modern coastal hypersaline settings.
Organisms contributing to microbial sediments are assigned
to moderate halophiles (e.g. cyanobacteria, other phototrophic
bacteria, diatoms, non-phototrophic eubacteria) and extremely
halophilic taxa (e.g. green algae and halobacteria). Primary production
creates the organic base upon which biogeochemical cycles
are based that produce avariety of authigenic minerals found in deposits
of hypersaline settings. Characteristic tnicrobial sediments
include stromatolitic laminae, biolaminoid facies and sedimentary
augen structures. Communities dominated by stenotopic major
taxa often contribute with less unambiguous laminated structures,
e.g. flocculent organics, to the sedimentary record. Based on the
criteria of brine depth and salinity, a biofacies classification of marine-
derived microbial sediments is proposed.

Keywords:   Noffke, microbial mat; stromatolite, M.I.S.S.; MISS

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