Ancient Water? Pockets of water discovered deep in a Canadian mine may be 1.5 - 2.5 billion years ol
Ancient Water?Pockets of water discovered deep in a Canadian mine may be 1.5 - 2.5 billion years old. Researchers from the universities of Manchester and Toronto have collected samples of water trapped in bedrock in a Timmins, Ontario copper and zinc mine, about 350 miles north of Toronto. The water was trapped in the rock at a depth of 2.4 kilometers. The rocks in and around the mine were created from a large hydrothermal vent system on an ancient sea floor around 2.7 billion years ago. Three dating methods were used to determine the age of the water, including the measurement of xenon isotopes. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.The research team is next studying the water to determine if any microbes are present. The water has been far removed from any light source, but it is rich in hydrogen and methane, which could sustain some particular micro-organisms. The findings from these studies could help us better understand how early life on earth may have survived catastrophic events. We may also determine more environments to explore for life on Mars and other planets.-AmyReferences:http://www.npr.org/2013/05/16/183950854/water-trapped-for-1-5-billion-years-could-hold-ancient-lifehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22544761http://o.canada.com/2013/05/14/worlds-oldest-water-bubbling-into-northern-ontario-mine/Photo of water bubbling up from Canadian mine, courtesy of Barbara Sherwood Lollar -- source link
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