Underneath the parched sands is a massive, diverse group of bacteria and a previously undetected microclimate, according to a new study.
The Atacama Desert —an arid, unpopulated swath of northern Chile that is home to some of the most perceptive ground telescopes on Earth—is actually teeming with life beneath the ground, according to a team of researchers that recently scrutinized its soils. As LiveScience reminds us, scientists have already found microbial life under the desert’s surface. What we didn’t appreciate until now is the diversity of this life. The team behind this latest finding sampled the soil to a depth of 13.
” There is very little water in the Atacama; a 4-year study conducted during an El Niño that brought heavy rainfall to other parts of central South America caused just one rain event in the valley, of just .091 inches . The team added that similar gypsum deposits on Mars could provide a water source for microbial life on the Red Planet, should it exist.
Zoë Gypsum Soil Atacama Desert Environment Mars Habitability Analogue Environments On Earth Astrobiology Extremophile Gizmodo
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