Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop [clues in the search for life on Mars and beyond]

Richard A. Lovett ^ | November 20, 2009 | National Geographic News

[SunkenCiv]

The discovery could offer clues in the search for life on Mars and beyond, researchers said in October at a meeting of the Geological Society of America... The microbes were found on the walls of lava tubes in Hawaii, New Mexico, and the Portuguese Azores islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean... The finds include "a lovely blue-green ooze dripping out of the [cave] ceiling in Hawaii; a vein of what looks like a gold, crunchy mineral in New Mexico; and, in the Azores, amazing pink hexagons," said Diana Northup, a geomicrobiologist at the University of New Mexico... Lava tubes form when molten lava seeps out beneath a solidifying flow from an active volcano, leaving long caves in its wake. Since 1994 Northup and colleagues have been seeking out unusual deposits in caves, including lava tubes, and putting them under a microscope or testing them for DNA. Her team's discoveries add to a growing body of evidence that lava tubes on other planets might be the best places to look for signs of extraterrestrial life, said Saugata Datta, a geochemist from Kansas State University who was not involved in the work.

[TheOldLady]

I yam happy that you’re in apple-pie order today, so raise deglaze of wine and enjoy the day in good health.