OH. YOUR. GOD! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These geological layers formed from microbial mats and can be found here on Earth in any number of environments, including tidal flats, lagoons, riverine shores, and lakes. Billions of years ago, these highly diverse microscopic communities of bacteria became trapped and were rearranged in shallow bodies of water. Their fossilized remnants are still identifiable today. Noffke reasoned that if Mars once harbored early-stage microbial life, it probably looked a lot like Earths early-stage microbial life, and that it would have left behind these tell-tale remnants. Indeed, the Gillespie Lake outcrop would be a great place to look. Its one of many playas on the Red Planet — a dried up lakebed that was filled with water about 3.7 billion years ago. Noffke took a look at Curiositys Gillespie photographs hoping to find similarities between similar structures here on Earth, specifically 3.48-billion-year-old MISS that she herself discovered in Western Australias Dresser Formation. Its considered the oldest ecosystem ever found, and about 300 million years younger than previous finds. She also compared the images to sedimentary features found in Germany, the United States, and other locations in Australia.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:55:02 +0000
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