Lake Hillier: Pink Australian lake gets its colour from red and purple microbes

DNA sequencing has revealed that a bright pink lake on an island off Western Australia gets its colour from a mix of salt-loving bacteria and algae Earth 10 March 2022 By Alice Klein Aerial view of Lake Hillier, Australia Tourism Western Australia The unusual bubblegum pink colour of a remote lake in Western Australia has … Read more

This Extremely Toxic Lake Could Show Us How Life May Have Survived on Mars

The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on Mars – if not now, then … Read more

Glacier Lakes Make Permanent Ice Disappear Over Twice as Fast, Study Reveals

Glaciers are retreating faster globally due to climate change but they melt more quickly when they flow into a lake than when they end on land, with consequences for water supplies, a new study found on Thursday.   The Swiss-funded study is the first large-scale, detailed analysis of the phenomenon in mountain glaciers and could … Read more

‘Killer Lake’ in Africa Looks Like Paradise, But It’s Hiding a Deadly Secret

The engineers aboard the floating power station on Lake Kivu could only watch nervously as the volcano in the distance erupted violently, sending tremors rumbling through the water beneath them.   It was not the lava shooting from Mount Nyiragongo last May that spooked them, but the enormous concentrations of potentially explosive gases within Kivu, … Read more

Mars’ suspected underground lake could be just volcanic rock, new study finds

A suspected Martian underground lake is probably volcanic rock masquerading as water, according to a new study. In 2018, researchers found evidence that the Red Planet’s southern pole might have water beneath it. The possible water signature was first interpreted from radar observations made by Mars Express, a European Space Agency spacecraft. But a new … Read more

Scientists Identify a Previously Unknown Type of Storm, Called an ‘Atmospheric Lake’

A new type of weather condition has been observed, existing primarily in one particular part of the world: compact, slow-moving, moisture-rich pools. Researchers are calling these ‘atmospheric lakes’.   This unique type of storm occurs over the western Indian Ocean and moves towards Africa. Unlike most storms – created by a vortex – the lakes … Read more

Research in experimental lake shows fish populations can recover quickly from mercury contamination | Science

Mercury pollution is a global problem. Emissions from gold mining, coal burning, and other industrial processes travel through the atmosphere, eventually falling to Earth as rain or snow. The poison can make its way to fish and the humans who eat them, where it can damage the developing nervous system, causing problems with memory and … Read more