Pavilion Lake -Home - Carbonates and Mars in a BC lake

Pavilion Lake -Home - Carbonates and Mars in a BC lake

Posted by batemanl on July 5th, 2006

Pavilion Lake -Home

I saw this on CBC's The National last night, so I did a bit of research into it today and wanted to share with everyone. Apparently, these microbialites are unusual in fresh water, though to me they appear to be very similar in form to salt-water reefs and coral growths.

At the same time, the different types of carbonates found in Pavilion are fascinating as well. As they got into deeper depths, 'chimney' like structures that were reminiscent of similar structures near deep-sea thermal vents, though much smaller that the thermal vent variety.

The correlation to Mars is in the fact that these carbonates appear to be a very ancient form of life. They are similar in structure to fossils of carbonate structures that many scientists think formed the first examples of life on earth. Because of this, many also feel that carbonate like structures are some of the most likely forms for life to take in places like Mars, where conditions are inhospitable, and/or life had an abortive beginning.

I'll be following this for sure … until I saw this report, I was unaware of any fresh-water carbonates like this. I thought they were a specifically salt-water creature, and just for that reason I am fascinated by these discoveries.

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