It looks peaceful, but Laguna del Diamante's waters are deadly.MARÍA EUGENIA FARÍASPosted on 04/04/2010 8:24:51 PM PDT by neverdem
Microbes thriving in salty, alkali waters containing arsenic.
It looks peaceful, but Laguna del Diamante's waters are deadly.MARÍA EUGENIA FARÍASArgentinian investigators have found flamingos and mysterious microbes living in an alkaline lagoon nestled inside a volcano in the Andes. The organisms, exposed to arsenic and poisonous gases, could shed light on how life began on Earth, and their hardiness to extreme conditions may hold the key to new scientific applications.
In 2009, a team led by María Eugenia Farías, a microbiologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Tucumán, Argentina, discovered living stromatolites in the Socompa and Tolar Grande lagoons high in the Andes (see 'High window on the past'). Stromatolites — collections of photosynthetic microorganisms and calcareous concretions — are thought to have been common more than 3.5 billion years ago.
After that discovery, scientists in Argentina decided to look at lakes and lagoons in the Puna de Atacama, a desert plateau that sits more than 4,000 metres above sea level, in an attempt to understand what life might have looked like on the early Earth.
But when in February 2010 they explored Laguna Diamante inside the still active Cerro Galán volcano — one of the world's largest volcanic caldera — they found microbes and flamingos flourishing in the extreme conditions rather than stromatolites.
Researchers have not yet identified the compound from which these red crystals are made.MARÍA EUGENIA FARÍASFarías says that the lagoon is hyper alkaline (pH 11) and contains concentrations of salt five times higher than those of sea water. In addition, the concentration of arsenic in the water is 20,000 times higher than the level regarded as safe for drinking water by the US...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
micro ping
The organisms, exposed to arsenic and poisonous gases, could shed light on how life began on Earth, and their hardiness to extreme conditions may hold the key to new scientific applications.
Are we talking about a lake in Argentina, or about the US Congress?
Water that briny creates an osmotic pressure outward, IIRC. Arsenic would be washed out of the organisms rather than soaking in. And those flamingos have to be getting their drinking water from somewhere else.
Microbes, flamingoes, and no Trailer Parks? Must be an evolutionary progression...(8^D)
They may have a newly discovered mineral (not common, but it does still happen).
The arsenic rich water indicates a likely high temperature hydrothermal influence, not unexpected considering the location of the lake. I wonder if anyone is prospecting for gold in the area, too, as those temperature regimes are getting pretty close. I'd be looking for quartz veins...
Thanks for the ping!
Unique life settings that break all the ‘environmental’ rules are fascinating.
“And those flamingos have to be getting their drinking water from somewhere else.”
.
Ya think?
.
“Microbes, flamingoes, and no Trailer Parks?”
Did you hear about the wealthy flamingo...
He had two pink cast iron Polocks placed on his front lawn.
Being a volcanic area, all kinds of interesting things could be belched forth from the magma.
Dilithium?
Lithium is a possibility, (usually caught up in micas), it depends on the composition of the magma...
Sorry, not true. Any such osmotic pressure is only in effect for a very short period of time before it equilibrates across the cell membranes. Same for the arsenic. Microbes adapted to fresh water and immediately placed in salt will mostly die, and brine microbes immediately placed in fresh water will basically explode. But over generations, osmotic pressure is of zero consequence.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2486746/posts?page=12#12
Some people have no sense of humor...
You know what they say: “Reality is for those who can’t handle Sci-Fi”.
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