[Nature] The Zhurong rover has identified a layer consisting of platy rocks enriched in hydrous minerals on a ~0.76-Ga surface in southern Utopia Planitia, indicating unexpected recent aqueous activity on […]
brine
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Biosignature Reservoirs In The Rozel Point Tar Seeps At Great Salt Lake, Utah
[Frontiers in Microbiology] On the north shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA, naturally occurring tar seeps at Rozel Point provide an opportunity to study a petroleum-rich environment adjacent to […]
Posted inCryobiology
Ancient Marine Life May Be Hiding In Antarctica’s Blood Falls
[Scripps/JCVI] Blood Falls has long been one of Antarctica’s strangest landmarks: a red-stained outflow that spills from the face of Taylor Glacier into the cold, dry landscape of the McMurdo […]
![(A) C1 clast containing numerous magnetite (white), pyrrhotite (light gray), and dolomite grains (dark gray). (B) C1 clast with numerous dolomites marked “D,” indicating the dolomite crystal where the FIB was cut (bottom, arrowed, and outlined in yellow). (C) Bright-field TEM image of the FIBed dolomite crystal. Numerous cracks are arrowed. (D) Na x-ray map of the same area as in (C). -- [Science Advances]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Meteor-over-New-.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
Brines Discovered In A Meteorite From A Primitive CM Asteroid
[Science Advances] The CI (Ivuna-type) carbonaceous material returned from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu contain mobilized sodium from the evaporation or freezing of liquid water into brines, shedding light on the […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Ice Planet Recon: Glacier Surface Lowering And Subglacial Outflow Coincide With Blood Falls Discharge In The McMurdo Dry Valleys
Blood Falls is a unique feature that appears at the snout of the Taylor Glacier in the upper Taylor Valley, East Antarctica.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Life In The Brine Of Lunenburg, Germany: Unveiling Microorganisms Associated With Zechstein Salt Deposits
Introduction: The presence of hypersaline brines on other planets and moons in the inner and outer Solar System has been well established.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release
Mars’ Salty Secrets: How Ancient Brines Imprinted Their Chemical Fingerprints In Martian Minerals
Jarosite, a sulfate mineral widely detected across the Martian surface, has long been regarded as a key indicator of past aqueous activity.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Production and Preservation of Lipid Biosignatures in SO4-Rich Hypersaline Lakes of the Cariboo Plateau
Modern and ancient hypersaline lakes and oceans have been identified across the solar system, but the habitability and potential of these environments to preserve organic matter remain unknown.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
The Role Of Seasonal Frost In Brine Formation On Mars
Due to extreme temperatures and the dryness of Mars, it’s thought to be impossible for liquid water to form on the planet’s surface, a critical precondition for habitability. The only […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Micron-scale Crystals In Halite Are Proxies For Permian Acid Brines
Permian bedded halite of the Nippewalla Group of Kansas and the Opeche Shale of North Dakota, USA, formed in extremely acid saline lakes.