Alien SpiresThis isn’t a picture of a sci-fi alien metropolis. Microbes at the bottom of i

Alien SpiresThis isn’t a picture of a sci-fi alien metropolis. Microbes at the bottom of ice-covered lakes in Antarctica produce these bizarre landscapes.These particular spires carpet the bottom of Lake Vanda in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (https://goo.gl/OX9ESw). The lakes in these valleys are constantly covered in a thick layer of ice, are only just above freezing temperatures, and endure months in total darkness during Antarctic winter. They are some of the most extreme environments on Earth.The only life in these lakes are complex communities of microbes, which live off the few rays of sunlight that penetrate the ice during the summer months. A mixture of filamentous cyanobacteria, diatoms and other bacteria build these spectacular spires over large regions of the lake floor (less than 40 m / 120 ft deep). The spires themselves are supported by deposits of calcium carbonate, which form a rough scaffold for the bacteria to live on.Scientists study the bacteria in these extreme lakes to try and understand the conditions that life might be able to survive in on other planets. They also study the characteristic fossils that these mats leave behind, so they know what the signs of ancient life might look like in Martian rocks.OBImage Source: http://goo.gl/wK2HsdOriginal Paper: http://goo.gl/F6qcs2The McMurdo Valleys: https://goo.gl/OX9ESwMicrobial Mats and Early Life: http://goo.gl/L6NaQPAntarctic Lakes and Mars: http://goo.gl/A8y1bO -- source link

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