Nature & Environment
Ancient Water Underneath The Ground Of Canada May Harbor 'Alien Life'
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Nov 03, 2016 04:32 AM EDT
The researchers discovered an ancient water beneath the ground in Northern Ontario that may harbor alien life. It is considered the world's oldest water that is estimated to have been cut off from the surface for about 2.64 billion years.
The findings of the study were published in the Nature Communications. The researchers found that there could be a possibility that exotic life has been developing in the ancient water without sunlight or atmospheric oxygen for billions of years, according to Science Alert.
Microbial communities may evolve underneath the planet's surface. This indicates that similar thing could be happening on planet Mars, according to the team. Barbara Sherwood Lollar, one of the researchers from the University of Toronto said that this continues to open ideas of how much of this planet is habitable. This suggests habitability of Mars too.
In the study, the researchers gathered samples of the ancient water from boreholes at the Kidd mine in Ontario. Dr. Long Li, the assistant professor at the University of Alberta described the flow of water as abundant and lukewarm. It's not very pleasant as its flavor has a combination of bitter, salty and metallic. On the other hand, the water has Sulphur content, which Dr. Li most interested at.
The Globe and Mail discovered that the sulfur in the ancient water is supplied by the mineral pyrite in the surrounding rocks. They explained that the natural radioactivity of the rock generates much energy that separates a small amount of water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen that dissolves the Sulphur turns into sulphate. The chemical process of the sulphate indicates a long-term sustainable environment for bacteria.
Alex Sessions, a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology, said that the thing that's special is that the sulphate is being generated by radioactive decay. Dr. Li also added that because this is a common geological setting in early Earth as well as on modern Mars, they think that if the right minerals and water are present, they can create the needed energy source to support the microbes.
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First Posted: Nov 03, 2016 04:32 AM EDT
The researchers discovered an ancient water beneath the ground in Northern Ontario that may harbor alien life. It is considered the world's oldest water that is estimated to have been cut off from the surface for about 2.64 billion years.
The findings of the study were published in the Nature Communications. The researchers found that there could be a possibility that exotic life has been developing in the ancient water without sunlight or atmospheric oxygen for billions of years, according to Science Alert.
Microbial communities may evolve underneath the planet's surface. This indicates that similar thing could be happening on planet Mars, according to the team. Barbara Sherwood Lollar, one of the researchers from the University of Toronto said that this continues to open ideas of how much of this planet is habitable. This suggests habitability of Mars too.
In the study, the researchers gathered samples of the ancient water from boreholes at the Kidd mine in Ontario. Dr. Long Li, the assistant professor at the University of Alberta described the flow of water as abundant and lukewarm. It's not very pleasant as its flavor has a combination of bitter, salty and metallic. On the other hand, the water has Sulphur content, which Dr. Li most interested at.
The Globe and Mail discovered that the sulfur in the ancient water is supplied by the mineral pyrite in the surrounding rocks. They explained that the natural radioactivity of the rock generates much energy that separates a small amount of water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen that dissolves the Sulphur turns into sulphate. The chemical process of the sulphate indicates a long-term sustainable environment for bacteria.
Alex Sessions, a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology, said that the thing that's special is that the sulphate is being generated by radioactive decay. Dr. Li also added that because this is a common geological setting in early Earth as well as on modern Mars, they think that if the right minerals and water are present, they can create the needed energy source to support the microbes.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone