An international team of scientists and students, led by the Arctic University of Norway, and including chemists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has announced a remarkable discovery […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
![Raman optical observations at 10× and 100× showing original halite hopper crystal and microbial movement within fluid inclusions entombed within the crystal structure. (A) Entire halite cubic crystal showing rectangular fluid inclusions on all four faces with an air bubble on the left face. Scale bar is at 100 μm. (B) Enhanced image of (A) showing fluid inclusion patterns within cubic halite habits. Scale bar is at 100 μm. (C) 100× image highlighting a fluid inclusion within a single crystal. Red arrows show microbial movement. Green targeting dot highlights an entombed biomass. Scale bar is 2 μm. (D) Another 100× image showing a larger fluid inclusion [when compared with (C)] with increased microbial movement within the fluid inclusion. Scale bar is 2 μm for 2C,D. -- Astrobiology via Sage Journals](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Evaporitic-Preservation-of-Modern.png?resize=1200%2C713&ssl=1)
![The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over one of Earth’s most extreme environments: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. [If you go to the original ESA posting] Zoom in or click on the circles to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution.](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Astrobiology-Analog-Site-Copernicus.jpg?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
