NASA to reveal major Mars finding tomorrow...
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The water they are talking about on Mars would be a thick cold soupy brine, which has the ability to melt at very cold temperatures yet still has potential for extremophile life. I presented during the 3rd Conference on Terrestrial Mars Analogs in Marrakech to propose that the NJ Pine Barrens was a great analog for the European Space Agency. The analysis of Mars analog environments on Earth is of paramount importance for the interpretation of the data from past, present and future orbital and landed missions, as well as mission planning (both robotic and human).
We visited a groundwater seep within a large desert depression or “sabkha” (a giant spung). Colorful microbial mats were found in different states of mineralization along with travertine and salt precipitation at this outcrop near Sabkha Oum Dba in Western Sahara. Samantha Cristoforetti, in blue at the far left, recently set the record for time spent by a women in space.
There is also a Saharan equivalent to a cripple. Ephemeral streams or “wadi” are associated with diverse extremophile colonies of brightly-colored halophilic (salt-loving) plants living in the brine that sourced at the seep shown above.
I study desiccation, cryodesiccation, and thermal-contraction cracking in the Pine Barrens ground, which has application to both Saharan and Martian research. The wadi eventually drained into a giant spung-like basin. Desiccation cracks formed polygonal patterns in the basin floor creating a salt flat or “salar.” The water table was just beneath the surface. For feature genesis, first the ground cracks through shrinkage while drying allowing trapped moisture from beneath to escape. Then salts are drawn up with capillarity and salt accumulations grow to create the rim (my guess). Table salt is collected here by locals.
Extremophile microbes can live under extreme conditions of high heat, salt, and alkalinity, here seen growing beneath the crystalline surface crust in the Sabkha Oum Dba salt flat. Our blue holes have cyanobacteria, a form of extremophile. Places like this may be an analog for a microbial habitat on Mars.
We visited a groundwater seep within a large desert depression or “sabkha” (a giant spung). Colorful microbial mats were found in different states of mineralization along with travertine and salt precipitation at this outcrop near Sabkha Oum Dba in Western Sahara. Samantha Cristoforetti, in blue at the far left, recently set the record for time spent by a women in space.
There is also a Saharan equivalent to a cripple. Ephemeral streams or “wadi” are associated with diverse extremophile colonies of brightly-colored halophilic (salt-loving) plants living in the brine that sourced at the seep shown above.
I study desiccation, cryodesiccation, and thermal-contraction cracking in the Pine Barrens ground, which has application to both Saharan and Martian research. The wadi eventually drained into a giant spung-like basin. Desiccation cracks formed polygonal patterns in the basin floor creating a salt flat or “salar.” The water table was just beneath the surface. For feature genesis, first the ground cracks through shrinkage while drying allowing trapped moisture from beneath to escape. Then salts are drawn up with capillarity and salt accumulations grow to create the rim (my guess). Table salt is collected here by locals.
Extremophile microbes can live under extreme conditions of high heat, salt, and alkalinity, here seen growing beneath the crystalline surface crust in the Sabkha Oum Dba salt flat. Our blue holes have cyanobacteria, a form of extremophile. Places like this may be an analog for a microbial habitat on Mars.
BTW, the stones above in post #1 are wind-faceted ventifacts like those we find in the Pine Barrens.
Maybe Landis' interest in the red planet wasn't so crazy after!
S-M
Maybe Landis' interest in the red planet wasn't so crazy after!
S-M
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