[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 […]
Great Salt Lake
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Plant Biology, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Orbital Biosignature Assay: Lake Eyre
Editor’s note: As we begin to study worlds in our own solar system that might have life we use our home world as a testbed for the various ways to […]
![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)
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Evaporitic Preservation of Modern Carotenoid Biomarkers and Halophilic Microorganisms in Mars Analog Hypersaline Environments
Our investigation in Mars-relevant terrestrial environments where biological material is entombed within rapidly precipitated evaporite crystals has given us the ability to evaluate the preservation potential of a hypersaline brine […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Great Salt Lake’s Imperiled Ecosystem: Microbialites And Nematodes
Scientists have long suspected nematodes, commonly known as roundworms, inhabit Utah’s Great Salt Lake sediments, but until recently, no one had actually recovered any there.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Orbital Recon: Seeking Life Signs From Orbit
Editor’s note: We observe new worlds from afar first with telescopes, then spacecraft flybys, then robotic orbital missions, followed perhaps by human missions. How we eventually study the surface of […]