A never-before-seen “alien” ecosystem has been discovered in a remote part of the Atacama Desert, a team of scientists has revealed.
An amazing patchwork of crystal clear lagoons surrounded by vast salt flats was located on Argentina’s Puna de Atacama, a huge plateau more than 12,000 feet above sea level.
One of the driest environments on Earth, it rarely rains, and when it does, the sun relentlessly illuminates the landscape, creating an environment in which most animals and plants cannot survive. I am.
Still, last April, University of Colorado Boulder geologist Brian Hynek was looking at some satellite images of the area and discovered what appeared to be a network of lagoons.
Intrigued, he and microbiologist Maria Farias drove as far as they could toward the mysterious formation, then hiked several miles in the hot sun, one report said. news release Published by CU.
“In some places, we were knee-deep in salt mud,” Hynek said.
But as soon as we arrived on the scene, we knew it was worth the effort. We discovered something truly remarkable.
Green stromatolite mounds flourish at the bottom of one of the Atacama lagoons (Brian Hynek)
There they discovered a network of 12 lagoons spread out over approximately 25 acres (10.1 hectares) and surrounded by barren mountains in the distance.
Beneath the glistening water, Hynek discovered a huge green mound about 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide and several feet high.
He identified them as stromatolites, complex microbial communities that form huge rocky mountains as they grow, much like corals form coral reefs.
But these were unlike anything any scientist had ever seen before.
Preliminary observations suggest that these communities may be similar to the stromatolites that existed during the early Archean era of Earth’s history, when there was little oxygen in the atmosphere.
“This lagoon may be one of the best modern examples of early signs of life on Earth,” Hynek said.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and in fact, it’s completely different from anything scientists have ever seen.”
Although stromatolites currently exist on Earth, including off the coast of the Bahamas, these modern microbial communities tend to be relatively small. They also grow passively by capturing sand grains and other debris floating in the ocean, CU said in a press release.
In contrast, ancient stromatolites could grow up to 20 feet tall and actively sucked up calcium and carbon dioxide from the surrounding water, precipitating minerals around them.
Hynek used a rock hammer to crack open the stromatolite layer, revealing its pink center.(Brian Hynek)
The mounds found in the Atacama lagoon resembled Archean communities more closely than any other mounds existing on Earth today.
Those rock formations are primarily composed of gypsum, a mineral commonly found in fossilized stromatolites but absent from almost all modern stromatolites.
Biologically, they consisted of an outer layer of photosynthetic microorganisms called cyanobacteria and a pink core rich in archaea, single-celled organisms commonly found in the world’s harshest environments.
Hynek also pointed out that the lagoon’s environment may be similar to conditions on ancient Earth, with salty, acidic water and exposure to intense solar radiation (due to high altitude).
What’s more, the stromatolite community could also provide experts with unprecedented insight into how life arose on Mars, which resembled our own planet billions of years ago.
“If life had evolved to the fossil level on Mars, this is what it would have looked like,” said the geologist and astrophysicist.
“Understanding these modern societies on Earth may tell us what to look for when looking for similar features in rocks on Mars.”
Hynek (pictured) described the discovery of the lagoon as the “biggest eureka moment” of his life.(Brian Hynek)
Hynek and Farias conducted further experiments to confirm that these previously unknown stromatolites are actively building rock formations, and to explain how microorganisms survive such harsh conditions. We would like to find out whether it can withstand the
However, you may be running out of time.
Companies based outside Argentina have already earmarked the area for lithium mining.
Once this process begins, the Atacama lagoon could become nearly deserted.
“This entire unique ecosystem could disappear within a few years,” Hynek said. “We hope that we can protect some of these sites, or at least reveal in detail what is there before they disappear or are permanently disrupted. ”
He described discovering the alien environment as “the greatest moment of wonder I have ever experienced in my life.”
“It’s amazing that such undocumented things can still be found on our planet,” he said.
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