{"id":27044,"date":"2023-02-15t16:28:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-15t16:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.planetforward.com\/2023\/02\/15\/strange-lake-huron-sinkholes-may-be-the-key-to-finding-life-on-other-planets\/"},"modified":"2023-02-23t20:51:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23t20:51:12","slug":"strange-lake-huron-sinkholes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/strange-lake-huron-sinkholes\/","title":{"rendered":"strange lake huron sinkholes may be the key to finding life on other planets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

special microbial mat systems in alpena, michigan, are helping scientists search for extraterrestrial life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit\u2019s so different, and feels otherworldly,\u201d said stephanie gandulla, a diver with the national oceanic and atmospheric administration\u2019s thunder bay marine sanctuary. she has sampled the mats near the sinkholes on the lake\u2019s bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"the
these microbial mats in a lake huron sinkhole have finger-like protrusions caused by a buildup of methane gas in small pockets beneath them. (thunder bay marine sanctuary)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

you may have seen a microbial mat before \u2014 the green algae on wet rocks at the beach is an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

algae\u2019s green color comes from chlorophyll \u2014 a substance that uses sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into energy. carbon dioxide and oxygen support most of life on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but under special conditions, like those at three sinkholes just two and a half miles east of alpena, primitive forms of microbes called cyanobacteria can survive without either of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

these are white, not green, and they get energy from chemicals in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthey are everywhere, but they are incredibly hard to find,\u201d said bopaiah biddanda, a biologist with grand valley state university\u2019s annis water resources institute, who has been studying them for 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

such mats are normally found in ocean waters over 32,000 feet deep, but they can be found only 80 feet below the surface of what is known as lake huron\u2019s middle island sinkhole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sinkhole\u2019s biologically extreme environment can help simulate sample collection in extraterrestrial worlds where life is based on similar chemicals. a new study<\/a> by biddanda models scenarios where robots could analyze material beneath the water of other planets. it\u2019s based on the work in lake huron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the study focuses on two methods: suction devices for soft mats and coring devices for hard mats.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
researchers use a special drill to carve cylindrical pieces of material out of sinkholes to study life on the lakebed.(nick zachar\/noaa)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

the sinkholes near alpena provide sulfuric, oxygenless groundwater that creates the conditions needed for the mats to grow. filaments of cyanobacteria drift together, creating a wispy white-purple flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit almost looks like a mirage,\u201d gandulla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it could be a long time before the experience from sinkholes in lake huron will be used to explore the potential of life on planets elsewhere, but biddanda\u2019s exploration is yielding other finds now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

recently, for example, his team found an explanation<\/a> for the mats\u2019 mysterious ability to change colors overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the purple and white cyanobacteria travel upwards to capture energy from the top of the mat, according to the study. during the day, microbes with color capture the small amount of sunlight reaching the seafloor with chlorophyll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as the sun sets, the white microbes move to the surface of the mat to absorb chemicals in the sulfuric water for their energy. this continuous, vertical shift in microbes causes patches of the mat to change between purple and white in a daily cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the microbial mats thrive off a special soup of chemicals in the groundwater, but changes in land use could disrupt it in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the thunder bay sanctuary is constantly combating such threats to coastal ecosystems such as the one near alpena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cdevelopment might choke off the water supply,\u201d biddanda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the marine sanctuary offers educational programs and tours to k-12 students and operates a welcome center<\/a> year-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwe work together to protect it as a community,\u201d gandulla said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"a
scientists hope to sample the oceans of europa, a moon of jupiter, for microbes with robots pioneered in lake huron. (nasa)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

the characteristics of middle island sinkhole\u2019s cyanobacteria could hold the key to much more than planetary exploration. they could lead to advances in other scientific fields, such as evolutionary biology and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwe have a library of pharmaceutical value here,\u201d biddanda said. \u201cthis could help us down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and, he noted that they look cool: \u201cthere is something fascinating and mesmerizing about these colorful mats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

special microbial mat systems in alpena, michigan, are helping scientists search for extraterrestrial life. they could also lead to advances in other scientific fields, such as evolutionary biology and medicine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11698,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5034],"tags":[5093,3598,5094,1514,5096,275,277,5097],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-27044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storyfest-2023","tag-alpena","tag-great-lakes","tag-marine-biology","tag-michigan","tag-microbiology","tag-nasa","tag-space","tag-thunder-bay"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nstrange lake huron sinkholes may be the key to finding life on other planets - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/strange-lake-huron-sinkholes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"strange lake huron sinkholes may be the key to finding life on other planets - 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