Blog Post Image: Evidence of 3.5 billion-year-old bacterial ecosystems found in Australia

A rock surface displaying ‘polygonal oscillation cracks’ in the 3.48 billion years old Dresser Formation, Pilbara region, Western Australia. Such and similar sedimentary structures are of biological origin. They document ancient microorganisms that formed carpet-like microbial mats on the former sediment surface. The Dresser Formation records an ancient playa-like setting – similar environments are occurring on Mars as well. The MISS constitute a novel approach to detect and to understand Earth’s earliest life. Photo courtesy of Nora Noffke.