” This lagoon could be one of the best modern examples of the earliest indications of life in the world. Its unlike anything Ive ever seen or, truly, like anything any researcher has ever seen,” Hynek, teacher in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), stated in a news release. “Its just amazing that you can still find undocumented things like that on our world.”
Scientists have recorded what might be a distinct type of environment on Earth and a possible window into the earliest phases of life in the world. The environment, previously unknown to science, is comprised of a system of lagoons surrounded by salt plains in Argentinas Puna de Atacama, a high plateau desert. Its likewise similar to what the Earth would have been like 3.5 billion years ago– and may even bear resemblances to ancient Mars.
Green mounds of stromatolites thrive at the bottom of a lagoon in Argentinas Puna de Atacama. Image credits: Brian Hynek.
Its one of the driest environments on Earth. It seldom rains and sunlight is extreme, creating an environment where just a couple of plants and animals can survive. But the lagoons are home to something else: stromatolites, complex microbial neighborhoods that produce giant mounds of rock as they grow, similar to corals developing a reef millimeter by millimeter.
The preliminary observations by geologist Brian Hynek and his group at the University of Colorado Boulder suggest that these neighborhoods could be similar to the stromatolites that lived throughout a period in Earths history called the Archaean, a geological eon 4000– 2500 million years back. Back then, oxygen was practically non-existent in the environment.
A demanding journey
When they showed up at the lagoon, Hynek knew it was something special. The network of 12 lagoons stretched over about 25 acres.
Throughout his career, Hynek has actually ventured into a few of the harshest environments on Earth to explore the potential for life to exist on extraterrestrial planets and moons. He has ascended to the top of Ojos del Salado, the worlds highest active volcano on the border of Argentina and Chile, and has actually carried out explorations to Antarctica in pursuit of fallen meteorites.
In April 2022, Maria Farías, a microbiologist, brought Hynek to one of her research study websites in northwest Argentina. To arrive, they drove 9 hours on a dirt roadway then stayed in a village of 35 individuals who rely on a single spring for water. On his last night in the area, he was taking a look at satellite pictures of the surrounding desert and saw what looked like a network of lagoons.
Life in the world, and Mars
Stromatolites, in general, refer to various microbial communities connected to rock layers. Such developments can still be found elsewhere in the world today, such as off the coast of the Bahamas. Contemporary stromatolites, however, typically show modest measurements and grow passively by catching particles like sand and fragments suspended in the ocean.
Ancient stromatolites could, on the other hand, reach heights of up to 20 feet. They actively took in calcium and carbon dioxide from the surrounding water, resulting in the precipitation of minerals around them. The developments in the Atacama lagoons have a closer similarity to some of the Archaean eon neighborhoods than to any presently existing life in the world.
The stromatolites might provide researchers with answers on how life may have begun on Mars– similar to Earth billions of years earlier. “If life ever evolved on Mars to the level of fossils, it would have resembled this. Understanding these contemporary communities on Earth could notify us about what we must look for as we browse for comparable functions in the Martian rocks,” Hynek said.
” We think these mounds are in fact growing from the microbes, which is what was occurring in the oldest ones,” Hynek said. They believe the lagoon environment might resemble conditions on ancient Earth.
Their rocky layers were built primarily from plaster, a typical mineral discovered in stromatolite fossils however absent in nearly all modern types of stromatolites. Biologically, they were formed by an external layer of cyanobacteria (photosynthetic microbes) and a pinkish core rich in archaea– single-celled organisms that are often discovered in Earths severe environments.
Hynek utilized a rock hammer to break open a stromatolite development, exposing its pink. Image credits: Brian Hynek.
Study on a deadline
The scientists hope to do more experiments to validate that these stromatolites are, indeed, actively developing their rock developments, and to check out how the microorganisms endured in such extreme conditions. When drilling starts, the lagoons could be severely transformed.
They believe the lagoon environment might look like conditions on ancient Earth. The stromatolites might offer scientists with answers on how life may have begun on Mars– comparable to Earth billions of years earlier. Comprehending these modern communities on Earth might notify us about what we need to look for as we browse for similar functions in the Martian rocks,” Hynek said.
The preliminary findings existed this month at the 2023 meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
” This whole, unique environment might be gone in a matter of years,” Hynek said. “Were hoping that we can protect a few of these websites, or a minimum of information whats there before its gone or interrupted permanently.”
” This lagoon could be one of the finest modern-day examples of the earliest signs of life on Earth. The developments in the Atacama lagoons have a closer resemblance to some of the Archaean eon communities than to any currently existing life on Earth.
