Water 'Microhabitats' in Largest Asphalt Lake May Reveal Possibility for Life on Other Planets

Scientists may have found evidence for life on other planets right here on Earth. Researchers have discovered extremely small habitats in an asphalt lake that may just increase the potential for life on other worlds while at the same time offering a way to clean up oil spills on our own.

The scientists examined samples from the world's largest natural asphalt lake. There, they found active microbes in droplets as small as a microliter, which is about 1/50^th of a drop of water. Not only that, but these microbes were actively degrading the oil in the asphalts, which means that it's possible that a similar phenomenon could be used to help clean up oil spills.

"We saw a huge diversity of bacteria and archaea," said Dirk Schulze-Makuch, one of the researchers, in a news release. "That's why we speak of an 'ecosystem,' because we have so much diversity in the water droplets."

The asphalt lake itself is located on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It's about 100 acres in all, and it teems with microbial life. This, in particular, may point to the fact that there's life on Saturn's moon, Titan.

"For me, the cool thing is I got into it from an astrobiology viewpoint, as an analog to Saturn's moon, Titan, where we have hydrocarbon lakes on the surface," said Schulze-Makuch. "But this shows astrobiology has also great environmental applications, because of the biodegradation of oil compounds."

That said, the scientists still need to conduct future research before any practical applications can be made in terms of using these microbes to help clean up soil spills. That said, these new findings to represent a way to better understand the tiniest organisms on our world, which could, in turn, show scientists where to look for life on other planets.

The findings are published in the journal Science.