Chemical Andsedimentary Processes in Acidic Salinelakes and Their Significance for Martiangeology - Research Paper Example

Geochemical archives in lake sediments provide information that aligns with the geological features of Mars. Various acidic saline lakes in Australia, the United States, and other countries are analogous with the rocks and soil qualities of planet Mars. The conditions of regional acid saline lakes will be discussed, and terrestrial hematite concretions will be compared with those found on earth.

Amino acids are the key to terrestrial biochemistry, widely prevalent in terrestrial life, and easily identified using advanced instruments and technology. For this reason, amino acids are ideal as a biomolecular class, to use for planetary exploration. How chemical biosignatures in amino acids can help to indicate life on Mars will be examined. Introduction “Understanding lake chemistry is critical for correctly interpreting the geochemical archives of lake deposits” (Cohen 69). The presence of elements and isotopes in lakes are closely associated with external climatic and watershed processes.

The concentrations of solutes determine the distribution of organisms and the precipitation or dissolution of mineral phases. Sedimentary archives develop from both fossils and minerals, and interpreting aspects of ancient water chemistry from these records may enable the reconstruction of paleoclimate or activity before the presence of human life around the lake. Similarly, the interpretation of isotopic records requires a preliminary understanding of their behavior in lakes, and its relationship with external factors such as rainfall or nutrient discharge.

Paleolimnology is the study of past conditions or processes of ancient lakes, and of the sediments and history of existing lakes It is recognized that lakes probably existed on Mars and other planets of the solar system. This invites the next generation of paleolimnologists with tremendous opportunities “to apply terrestrially gained knowledge of how ‘small’ water bodies record their histories through their sedimentary records” (Cohen 398).