Events for December 2025 – Europlanet
But here’s the core issue: hypersaline environments are powerful windows into the limits of life on Earth and the metabolic pathways that drive biogeochemical cycles in conditions similar to early Mars. In this context, the La Mancha region offers a compelling natural laboratory with small, seasonal lagoons that are hypersaline, alkaline, and sulfate-rich—conditions reminiscent of the Hesperian era on Mars. By integrating geochemical, mineralogical, microbiological, and isotopic data gathered from these lagoons in 2022 and 2025, we can identify the metabolisms that support microbial growth, understand their environmental impacts, and trace their physicochemical evolution over time. This work provides fundamental insights into how desiccation advances at these sites and evaluates their viability as temporary Mars analogues.
Speakers: Michael C. Macey and Velislava Ilieva (Open University, UK)
Register here >>https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WNGZEcVGY4ROWp5J4I11AyQ
