Geomicrobiologists in South African gold mine (IMAGE)

Marine Biological Laboratory

Geomicrobiologists in South African gold mine

Caption

Team of geomicrobiologists walking to a sampling site at the end of an inactive tunnel in a South African gold mine. At this site almost 3 km deep beneath the surface, the researchers can access one of the deepest and oldest ecosystems on Earth. The brines in which these microbes live have been trapped in the rock for more than 1 billion years.

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Emil Ruff

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