Saed News: These researchers were able to demonstrate that the signal observed in the fluids must have been produced by microbiological activity — and, most importantly, it must have been generated over a very long timescale.
According to the Society section of the Saed News analytical news site, quoting Fararu, in 2016, Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar led a team of geologists studying a Canadian mine when they made this remarkable discovery.
Tests revealed that the flowing water, found about three kilometers below the surface, was between 1.5 to 2.6 billion years old, making it the oldest water ever discovered on Earth.
Professor Sherwood Lollar said, "When people think about this water, they imagine just a small amount trapped inside the rock. But in reality, the water was flowing at liters per minute — far more volume than anyone had predicted."
After tasting the ancient water, she found it very salty and bitter — even saltier than seawater — which she said is a promising sign, since saltier water is usually older. In this case, it’s not surprising that water preserved for billions of years would be extremely salty.
"If you're a geologist working with rocks, you've probably tasted quite a few," she added. Her team also detected sulfate salts in the water, indicating that life once existed in it.
According to the researchers, they were able to demonstrate that the signal observed in the fluids must have been produced by microbiological activity — and more importantly, that it was generated over an extremely long timescale. The microbes responsible for these traces couldn’t have created them overnight. Therefore, the traces are considered evidence of life in these fluids on a geological timescale.
