As scientists explore, records are being set for the oldest things on earth, including the world’s oldest water! In 2013, Canadian miners were drilling in a copper-zinc mine near Timmins, Ontario, when they suddenly discovered a bubbling "spring."

The Kidd Mine where the oldest water was discovered P199

It was finally identified that this water source is 1.5 billion years old. During this long time span, it was completely isolated from the world and had no direct or indirect contact with water exposed to the earth's atmosphere or the sun.

The length of time the pool has been isolated from the world is how scientists judge how old a water source is. The oldest water source discovered in 2013 was updated in 2016.

This year, in the same copper-zinc mine in Canada, scientists discovered another completely enclosed pool at a depth of 3.1 kilometers.

Because the enclosed pool is surrounded by some of the oldest known rocks on Earth that are billions of years old, the water was thought to be very old when the pool was discovered.

Next, scientists spent more than four years until 2021 to further confirm the specific time when the water was isolated from the world. They mainly determined it by testing the radioactive neon, argon, helium and xenon dissolved in the water.

The final result did not disappoint. The water has been preserved there for at least more than 2 billion years, and may even be as old as 2.64 billion years, making it the oldest water in the known world.

For such a sample of the oldest water, many people may be curious about what it looks like and what it tastes like? Does it make sense for scientists to look for this water?

Pictured: The world’s oldest water

Where does this water come from?

first,Contrary to what many people think, the volume of water sources is much larger than imagined. In fact, if there is too little, it is difficult (almost impossible) to find.

When scientists discovered it, it was seeping out at a rate of one liter per minute, but the outflowing water instantly turned light orange after contact with the air, and sediment appeared.

Barbara Barbara won the Canadian Science and Engineering Gold Medal for the discovery of the oldest water. Source: Martin Lipman/NSERC

According to a researcher on the study, geoscientist Barbara Sherwood Lollar of the University of Toronto, the water was filled with a strong sulfur smell and was as viscous as molasses.

The brave scientist also tasted the water, which she said tasted salty and bitter, much saltier than seawater.

In interviews with some scientific media, Barbara said that the reason why she tasted the water was becauseTasting rocks is something many geologists do, although it was water this time, she decided to dip her hand into it and taste it.

However, she also saidNot drinking it, but just using her taste buds to experience the taste of the water, because she understood that the water could overload the immune system and even send people into shock.

Pictured: This vial is preserved at the National Science Museum of Canada as the oldest example of water

"Salty and bitter" is a common characteristic of ancient and isolated water sources, and the older the water, the more salty it will be. This is because the water will interact with surrounding rocks and other materials in an oxygen-deprived environment, forming toxic pools with highly complex chemical compositions. These ingredients will make the water very salty and bitter.

The oldest known pool exists in the world's deepest basement metal mine, which contains large deposits of silver, copper and zinc, all of which interacted with and dissolved in water over hundreds of millions of years.

However, what causes the water to change color when exposed to air is iron-containing sulfate - the color of the precipitate formed by its oxidation, and sulfate is considered the "fingerprint of life" - which means that there should be life in this pool in the past (no life has been found now).

Pictured: Samples of the oldest water

So, you may be wondering now, where does this water come from?

In fact, scientists now speculate that this water should have been seawater, but as time goes by, more and more substances are dissolved in the water, making it more complex and saltier than seawater.

First of all, the first bit of rock that trapped this water is thought to be an ancient seafloor that formed about 2.6 billion years ago and was simply pushed onto land by crustal movement.

Second, sulfate-using microorganisms have only been recorded by scientists on the seafloor before.

Combining these two points, it is highly likely that the water itself is a remnant of past seawater.

Pictured: Samples of the oldest water

Finally: What is the point of searching for this water?

Known chemoautotrophic microorganisms that utilize sulfate need to survive in an environment of 25 degrees Celsius (their life processes also require hydrogen), so they are usually next to seafloor hot springs. It may be difficult for them to survive in this isolated water source, so they should have become extinct very early.

However, it all seems less doom-and-gloom, as scientists have discovered that the sulfates these microbes need actually allow for the interaction between water and surrounding rock material to occur in an oxygen-free environment.

In fact, in the past, people generally believed that sulfate originated from the underground. It spewed to the ground through hot springs, and those microorganisms gathered there to use these sulfates to carry out life activities.

Pictured: Life in submarine hot springs

Beside the submarine hot springs, life based on these chemoautotrophic microorganisms has created an ecosystem that is completely different from the photosynthesis-based ecosystem we are familiar with.

If the sulfates needed for life could be produced simply by isolating water, then the conditions for life would be greatly extended.

Perhaps life exists on Mars now, because it is difficult to find liquid water on the surface of Mars. There is still a high possibility of liquid water existing in isolated places underground.

refer to:

[1].https://www.iflscience.com/a-geologist-found-the-oldest-water-on-earth-and-then-she-tasted-it-69365

[2].https://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-oldest-water-lies-deep-below-canada-and-it-s-2-billion-years-old

[3].https://answersingenesis.org/origin-of-life/the-worlds-oldest-water/