Self-assembled versus biological pattern formation in geology
Pattern Formation and Solitons
2026-01-06 v1 Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Geophysics
Populations and Evolution
Abstract
Both abiotic self-organization and biological mechanisms have been put forward as the origin of a number of geological patterns. It is important to comprehend the formation mechanisms of such structures both to understand geological self-organization and in order to differentiate them from biological patterns -- fossils and bio-influenced structures -- seen in geological systems. Being able to distinguish the traces of biological activity from geological self-organization is fundamental both for understanding the origin of life on Earth and for the search for life beyond Earth.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.00323,
title = {Self-assembled versus biological pattern formation in geology},
author = {Julyan H. E. Cartwright and Charles S. Cockell and Julie G. Cosmidis and Silvia Holler and F. Javier Huertas and Sean F. Jordan and Pamela Knoll and Electra Kotopoulou and Corentin C. Loron and Sean McMahon and Anna Neubeck and Carlos Pimentel and C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz and Piotr Szymczak},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.00323},
year = {2026}
}