October 6th 05, 11:59 PM
http://www.news.cmich.edu/news/index.asp?id=856
CMU POSTDOCTORAL STUDY "ROCKS" WITH MARS SIMILARITIES
Central Michigan University
October 6, 2005
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACT:
Pat Lichtman, (989) 774-3197
CMU CONTACTS:
Brenda Beitler Bowen, (989) 774-1249 or
Kathleen Benison, (989) 774-4494
Microscopic life in lakes of southwestern Australia may provide keys to
unlocking the secrets of past environments and the possibility of life
on Mars.
An unparalleled study by Brenda Beitler Bowen, a Central Michigan
University postdoctoral research associate, on salty acid lakes in
Australia provides a rare, modern analogy to ancient geologic
formations
on Earth and Mars.
"There are very, very few places on Earth that have this type of acid
environment," said Bowen, who is working with CMU faculty geologist
Kathleen Benison, an expert on ancient acidic lakes whose work has been
featured in National Geographic and Newsweek. "One is Australia. No one
thought that life could exist in salty and acidic water, but we found
evidence that it does, even under extreme conditions. We expect we may
even find new species."
"Brenda brings great strengths in sedimentary geology and geochemistry
to the project and has done a fantastic job so far," said Benison.
"Brenda has been a tremendous partner in the field and in the lab."
Bowen, whose research focuses on an area of geology called diagenesis,
and Benison collected hundreds of samples of rocks and water from 27
Australian lakes this summer and shipped them to a CMU laboratory,
where
they are being examined in minute detail.
"I study everything that happens to a rock after it's laid down - how
it's formed, how water flows into pores in the rock, its fluid and
chemistry," said Bowen.
CMU undergraduate geology major Elliot Jagniecki of Whitehall, who
helped collect the samples, is studying bubbles, called fluid
inclusions, found in the salt mineral for evidence of life.
Recent NASA images and geochemical data from Mars reveal a unique suite
of minerals and sedimentary structures that are consistent with
features
found on Earth.
"We know there are layered rock formations on Mars, and that there was
water,' she said. "Preliminary investigations suggest microbial life is
present even in extreme geochemical conditions in Australia. Evaluation
of this potential for life in these environments can help to provide
guidelines for how the search for life on Mars might continue. Where
water is, there is life. Just about everything else we found in
Australia is strikingly similar to what NASA found on Mars."
This study is breaking new ground.
"We're the only ones studying these types of acid lakes on Earth,"
Bowen
said. "The reason I chose to come to CMU for my postdoctoral study was
because of Kathy (Benison) and her work in this area."
Bowen will present her study at the Geology Society of America meeting
Oct. 16.
"I'm very excited because other speakers in this session are NASA
experts," said Bowen.
She found other analogies by digging in Southern Utah. Her doctoral
dissertation was on sandstone concretions - small, pebble-like
formations in rocks that indicate the impact of fluids and minerals. In
Utah, the rock formations were ancient, indicating a long period of
time
to form, but younger formations in Australia indicate that rocks can be
formed more quickly than previously believed. This may help discover
more about the possibility of life on Mars.
CMU POSTDOCTORAL STUDY "ROCKS" WITH MARS SIMILARITIES
Central Michigan University
October 6, 2005
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACT:
Pat Lichtman, (989) 774-3197
CMU CONTACTS:
Brenda Beitler Bowen, (989) 774-1249 or
Kathleen Benison, (989) 774-4494
Microscopic life in lakes of southwestern Australia may provide keys to
unlocking the secrets of past environments and the possibility of life
on Mars.
An unparalleled study by Brenda Beitler Bowen, a Central Michigan
University postdoctoral research associate, on salty acid lakes in
Australia provides a rare, modern analogy to ancient geologic
formations
on Earth and Mars.
"There are very, very few places on Earth that have this type of acid
environment," said Bowen, who is working with CMU faculty geologist
Kathleen Benison, an expert on ancient acidic lakes whose work has been
featured in National Geographic and Newsweek. "One is Australia. No one
thought that life could exist in salty and acidic water, but we found
evidence that it does, even under extreme conditions. We expect we may
even find new species."
"Brenda brings great strengths in sedimentary geology and geochemistry
to the project and has done a fantastic job so far," said Benison.
"Brenda has been a tremendous partner in the field and in the lab."
Bowen, whose research focuses on an area of geology called diagenesis,
and Benison collected hundreds of samples of rocks and water from 27
Australian lakes this summer and shipped them to a CMU laboratory,
where
they are being examined in minute detail.
"I study everything that happens to a rock after it's laid down - how
it's formed, how water flows into pores in the rock, its fluid and
chemistry," said Bowen.
CMU undergraduate geology major Elliot Jagniecki of Whitehall, who
helped collect the samples, is studying bubbles, called fluid
inclusions, found in the salt mineral for evidence of life.
Recent NASA images and geochemical data from Mars reveal a unique suite
of minerals and sedimentary structures that are consistent with
features
found on Earth.
"We know there are layered rock formations on Mars, and that there was
water,' she said. "Preliminary investigations suggest microbial life is
present even in extreme geochemical conditions in Australia. Evaluation
of this potential for life in these environments can help to provide
guidelines for how the search for life on Mars might continue. Where
water is, there is life. Just about everything else we found in
Australia is strikingly similar to what NASA found on Mars."
This study is breaking new ground.
"We're the only ones studying these types of acid lakes on Earth,"
Bowen
said. "The reason I chose to come to CMU for my postdoctoral study was
because of Kathy (Benison) and her work in this area."
Bowen will present her study at the Geology Society of America meeting
Oct. 16.
"I'm very excited because other speakers in this session are NASA
experts," said Bowen.
She found other analogies by digging in Southern Utah. Her doctoral
dissertation was on sandstone concretions - small, pebble-like
formations in rocks that indicate the impact of fluids and minerals. In
Utah, the rock formations were ancient, indicating a long period of
time
to form, but younger formations in Australia indicate that rocks can be
formed more quickly than previously believed. This may help discover
more about the possibility of life on Mars.