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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2026-2220</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Multiple microscale stable isotope signatures record metabolic processes in ancient deep subsurface barite-pyrite-calcite assemblages</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Runge</surname>
<given-names>Eric</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Fichtner</surname>
<given-names>Vanessa</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Tillberg</surname>
<given-names>Mikael</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Whitehouse</surname>
<given-names>Martin</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2227-577X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Drake</surname>
<given-names>Henrik</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Laboratory for Isotope Geology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>23</day>
<month>04</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>27</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Eric Runge et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2220/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2220/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2220/egusphere-2026-2220.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2220/egusphere-2026-2220.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Fracture-coating pyrite from deep within the Fennoscandian Shield records the largest &lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S-enrichment observed on Earth to date (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S = +147 &amp;permil;) &amp;ndash; likely the result of late-stage Rayleigh distillation during closed-system microbial sulfate reduction (MSR). This implies even heavier sulfur isotope values for the complementary sulfate reservoir during pyrite formation, possibly recorded in coeval sulfate minerals such as barite [BaSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;]. However, barite has been poorly explored as an archive of ancient deep subsurface biosignatures. Here, we compiled published microscale &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;pyrite&lt;/sub&gt;, &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;calcite&lt;/sub&gt;, and &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C&lt;sub&gt;calcite&lt;/sub&gt; data with new secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;barite&lt;/sub&gt; and &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;barite&lt;/sub&gt; analyses from two localities on the Fennoscandian Shield (Forsmark and Laxemar/&amp;Auml;sp&amp;ouml;, Southeastern Sweden), aiming to constrain how barite records the history of microbial processes. Comparison between the &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;pyrite&lt;/sub&gt; range across both localities (&amp;minus;53.9 to +131.7 &amp;permil;) with the &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;barite&lt;/sub&gt; range (+7.6 to +52.0 &amp;permil;) demonstrates that the sulfate reservoir corresponding to extremely &lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S-enriched pyrite is not recorded in barite. We identified two groups of barite distinguished by their distinct &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O/&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S trends, which is proposed to record different MSR-related processes based on cogenetic &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C&lt;sub&gt;calcite&lt;/sub&gt; data. Although there is overlap between the metabolic processes recorded in both groups, the steeper trending Group 1 was dominantly associated with sulfate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), whereas the shallower trending Group 2 was dominated by organoclastic sulfate reduction (OSR). The different trends likely resulted from an interplay of MSR pathways (AOM vs. OSR), as well as variations in sulfate reduction rates (SRR) and fractionation-related isotope enrichment (&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;epsilon;), attributed to paleoenvironmental ratios of sulfate to electron donor abundances. Lower sulfate/electron donor ratios favored methanogenesis and AOM at lower SRR, whereas higher ratios inhibited methanogenesis and favored OSR at higher SRR. A preservation bias against extremely &lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S-enriched barite due to undersaturation at high degrees of Rayleigh distillation likely explains its absence in the deep subsurface. Our study highlights the need for microscale multiple stable isotope signatures in fracture-hosted mineral assemblages to understand metabolic processes in the ancient deep biosphere, while stressing that these records are strongly affected by local hydrogeochemical conditions.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="27"/></counts>
<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Vetenskapsrådet</funding-source>
<award-id>2021-04365</award-id>
<award-id>2025-04466</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas</funding-source>
<award-id>2020-01577</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>J. Gustaf Richert Stiftelse</funding-source>
<award-id>2023-00850</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs4">
<funding-source>Crafoordska Stiftelsen</funding-source>
<award-id>20210524</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs5">
<funding-source>National Science Foundation</funding-source>
<award-id>2120733</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
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<back>
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