Earth’s Oldest Flowing Water Found

Earth’s Oldest Flowing Water Found at the Bottom of a Canadian Mine (link)



various snippits
Working at a depth of 1.5 miles, geoscientists have discovered an ancient and isolated reservoir that contains water estimated to be anywhere from 1.5 to 2.7 billion years old. The geoscientists are calling the discovery a game changer, and for good reason.

The discovery was made by researchers working at the bottom of a mine shaft located in Timmins, Ontario. It’s a part of Canada’s Precambrian Shield — the oldest part of North America’s crust. According to the geoscientists, a team that included the University of Toronto’s Barbara Sherwood Lollar, the water contains enough energy to support life (including high levels of methane and hydrogen). This sample of free-flowing water could be billions of years old . The Earth itself is about 4.5 billion years old.

But it seems that the deep Earth isn’t as sterile a place as it’s made out to be. This research has implications to our understanding of not just life on Earth, but other planets as well. Interestingly, the Martian crust is similar to the Canadian Shield, which also contains crystalline rock that’s billions of years old — and possibly water.

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Que corporate elitist who will now begin bottling it for drinking water.

Awesome anyway.

AAC

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Hey JohnnyA, awesome to see you are still around and kicking.

You mentioned the possibilities with Mars, and I agree it is plausible.
I don't think we will know for absolute sure for a long time though, due to difficulties.

It causes me to think about stuff like Europa (moon)

Slightly smaller than the Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of water ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System.[10] This surface is striated by cracks and streaks, whereas craters are relatively rare. The apparent youth and smoothness of the surface have led to the hypothesis that a water ocean exists beneath it, which could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life.[11] This hypothesis proposes that heat from tidal flexing causes the ocean to remain liquid and drives geological activity similar to plate tectonics.[12]

Of course it's hypothetical, but fascinating to ponder none-the-less.
Thanks for posting.

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Hey Johnny A, long time no see.


Great find, very interesting too.
Now, how long will it be before they are able to really search Mars for such locations?
I think by the time they do I'll be fertilizing daisies

AnAbsoluteCreation
reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous

 

Que corporate elitist who will now begin bottling it for drinking water.

Awesome anyway.

AAC

I want to drink it.

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Always wanted to do this to a MOD

Already Posted

[snip]

So how do they determine the possible age?? From 1.5 to 2.7 billion years we kind of have a big gap between the two figures, lol... I almost feel like they are tossing out some random guess with zero credible data backing it. I mean, a 1.2 billion year gap isn't some tiny gap....

I just find it amusing when you see these scientists throw out figures that they know the common reader can't verify to save the life of them.

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


This makes me thirsty.

Yeah i remember when they found it! It was all over the paper here in town! I love timmins! except its so damn cold right now!

reply to post by jhn7537


i also thought of that! im guessing they are just dating the age of the rock around it along with the depth.

[snip]

Pretty interesting stuff. Nice find.

I'll have to say that I'm not looking at my glass of water in a very appetizing way right now though.

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Wow, a game changer indeed.

It speaks volumes for the likelihood of a similar subterranean water strata on Mars.
If life existed on the surface of Mars in the past, it would certainly seek/follow/find such a source during the cataclysm that destroyed the surface environment. Perhaps we have some real drilling to do!