For Lithophile elements, see Goldschmidt classification.
Lithophiles are micro-organisms that can live within the pore interstices of sedimentary and even fractured igneous rocks to depths of several kilometers.
Some are known to live on surface rocks, and make use of photosynthesis for energy.
Those that live in deeper rocks cannot use photosynthesis to gather energy, but instead extract energy from minerals around them. They live in cracks in the rock where water seeps down. The water contains dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) which the organisms use for their carbon needs.[1] They have been detected in rocks down to depths of nearly three km, where the temperature is approximately 75 °C.
Terrestrial lithophiles can be found in canyons primarily composed of granite, an igneous rock, and soils saturated with fractured rock.[2] Organisms from the genus Elliptochloris, a subaerial photosynthetic green algae,[3] demonstrate lithophilic preferences through colonization in granite cracks and in proximity to terrestrial lichens.[2] Lithophilic lichens from the genus Collema form tight symbiotic relationships between fungi and photosynthetic algae such as Elliptochloris in order to produce necessary saturated fatty acid secondary metabolites.[4] Lithophilic algal species colonizing fractured rock outcroppings individually exhibit coccal morphological shape while aggregating into an elliptical or globular arrangement during adulthood.[5]
Lithobiontic ecological niches further classify lithophiles into sub-categories determined by their spatial niche specificity. The term, lithic, refers to an association with rock and can be further explained by the term, lithobiontic, regarded as organisms living both on, and within rock surfaces.[6] Sub-surface rock organisms, endoliths, primarily exhibit niche preference within fissures, cavities, or tunnels of various rocks. While many endoliths degrade and effectively excavate the available carbonate rock surface, many are preyed upon by select gastropod, and echinoderm species. This habitat preference can be further threatened by suspension feeding organisms searching for acquired shelter.[6]
^Kuklinski, Piotr (2009). "Ecology of stone-encrusting organisms in the Greenland Sea—a review". Polar Research. 28: 222–237. Bibcode:2009PolRe..28..222K. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00105.x.
^ abMikhailyuk, Tatiana (2008). "Terrestrial lithophilic algae in a granite canyon of the Teteriv River (Ukraine)". Biologia. 63: 824–830.
^Neustupa, Jiří (2013). "Distribution patterns of Subaerial corticolous microalgae in two European regions". Plant Ecology and Evolution. 146: 279–289.
^Temina, Marina; Levitsky, Dmitri; Dembitsky, Valery (2010). "Chemical Constituents of the Epiphytic and Lithophilic Lichens of the Genus Collema". Records of Natural Products. 4.
^Elias, Marek; Neustupa, Jiří; Skaloud, Pavel (2008). "Elliptochloris bilobata var. corticola var. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a novel subaerial coccal green alga". Biologia. 63: 791–798.
^ abGolubic, Ju, Imre Friedmann, Stjepko (1981). "The Lithobiontic Ecological Niche, with Special Reference to Microorganisms". SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research. 51.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
elements within the Earth according to their preferred host phases into lithophile (rock-loving), siderophile (iron-loving), chalcophile (sulfide ore-loving...
Lithophiles are micro-organisms that can live within the pore interstices of sedimentary and even fractured igneous rocks to depths of several kilometers...
processes. Metals are primarily found as lithophiles (rock-loving) or chalcophiles (ore-loving). Lithophile metals are mainly the s-block elements, the...
rubidium, caesium, strontium, and barium (called LILE, or large-ion lithophile elements), and the other group includes elements of large ionic valences...
evolution. This enrichment in REEs, along with a moderate to high large-ion lithophile element (LILE) enrichment (ΣLILE > 1,000 ppm), including elements like...
chondrites are distinguished chemically by their depletions in refractory lithophile elements, such as Ca, Al, Ti, and rare earths, relative to Si, and isotopically...
mantle, resulting in two types of mantle reservoirs: those depleted in lithophile elements (depleted reservoirs), and those composed of "fresh" undifferentiated...
processes. Heavy metals are found primarily as lithophiles (rock-loving) or chalcophiles (ore-loving). Lithophile heavy metals are mainly f-block elements and...
caesium, and rubidium, which are large and weakly charged (the large-ion lithophile elements, or LILEs), as well as elements whose ions carry a high charge...
low-potassium tholeiitic magmas. These rocks have low concentrations of large ion lithophile elements (LILE), light rare earth elements (LREE), volatile elements and...
reactivity, do not occur naturally in pure form in nature. They are lithophiles and therefore remain close to the Earth's surface because they combine...
than the silicate minerals formed by lithophile elements, chalcophile elements separated below the lithophiles at the time of the first crystallisation...
mid-ocean-ridge basalts, but typically have slightly elevated large ion lithophile elements and a Nb depletion. These chemical signatures support the ophiolites...
oxide minerals that do not sink into the core; it is classified as a lithophile under the Goldschmidt classification, meaning that it is generally found...
industrial minerals such as quartz, feldspar, spodumene, petalite, and rare lithophile elements. Carbonatites are an igneous rock whose volume is made up of...
of MORB-like asthenosphere, enriching it with volatiles and large ion lithophile elements (LILE). The current belief is that the generation of andesitic...
Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator is a species of bacterium that lives in groundwater at depths from 1.5–3 kilometres (0.93–1.86 mi) below the Earth's...
melting, which yields magmas rich in the alkalis (particularly potassium); lithophile element (K, Ba, Cs, Rb) enrichment, high Ni and Cr, high potassium and...
compositional effects on the upper mantle by replenishing the large-ion lithophile elements, volcanism affects plate movement. The plates will be moved towards...
agriculture, however, make it extremely rich in ores of abundant, insoluble lithophile metals such as aluminium, iron and uranium. It has the world's largest...
and lower iron content: 143–146 and by its high content of large-ion lithophile elements, such as potassium, rubidium, caesium, strontium, or barium,...
subduction zone. Boninites with 10–18% MgO tend to have higher large-ion lithophile elements (LILE: Ba, Rb, Sr) than komatiites. The pristine volcanic mineralogy...
much more abundant in the Earth's crust. Neodymium is classified as a lithophile under the Goldschmidt classification, meaning that it is generally found...
approximated as an extinct system after 45 million years. Hafnium is a lithophile element and tungsten is siderophile element. Thus if metal segregation...
as a local probe of SRO in many complex rock-forming minerals. Light lithophile elements (LLEs) can be important variable components in several groups...
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