Scientists have discovered in a Canadian mine the oldest source of water ever found on the surface of our planetdating from about 2 billion years. A geologist even decided to taste it.
Water older than dinosaurs!
During an expedition to a Canadian mine about ten years ago, a team of geologists led by Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar made a extraordinary discovery. Indeed, at a depth of about 3 kilometersscientists came across perfectly insulated waterwater that appears very old.
Former this water was effectively since, after analyzes, geologists discovered that this source of water was the oldest ever found on earth. This has been isolated from the rest of the world and outside for billions of years, which is remarkable. According to estimates, this water would indeed have an age between 1.5 and 2.64 billion years, much more than the first dinosaurs!
This source of water was not limited to a small puddle in the depths of a cave since it would be A real tank of running water pouring several liters per minutea discovery that has exceeded all the expectations of geologists.
Very old traces of life
If the first plants appeared on earth about 500 million years ago and the first animals evolving on dry land date from around 400 million years ago, it is estimated that The first traces of life on earth appeared about 3.8 billion years ago. These organizations were then exclusively aquatic and they will remain so for 3.4 billion years!
The cartographers of the historic atlas of the earth, published by @les_arenes et @maglhistoirepresent their work to you.
The frieze of the history of spiral life makes us aware of the immensity of geological time and the recent appearance of the human race. pic.twitter.com/SMxN2ZgS9L— LegendesCartographie (@LegendesCarto) October 10, 2022
Thus, the discovery of very old life traces In this Canadian liquid is also remarkable. Researchers have indeed discovered sulfate in this source of water, which allowed them to see a fingerprint indicating the presence of living organisms in a very distant past.
According to geologists, microbes have survived in this water isolated from anything else on earth thanks to substrates produced by radiation. Sulfate discovered in this ancient water is not the modern sulfate of flowing surface water. Sulfate, like hydrogen, is in fact product on site by reaction between water and rocka reaction that will occur as long as the water remains in contact with this rock.
A very bitter taste
You might think that this water is far from drinking given its age. Indeed, our water bottles have an expiration date, but cit corresponds to the moment when plastic begins to degradethe water contained in it does not expire.
Even several billion years old, water is not “outdated”, except if it is considered stagnant and is therefore unfit for consumption due to the proliferation of bacteria. However, the water discovered in Canada was so isolated that it did not contain living organisms, only very old traces as explained previously.
Thus, the geologist Barbara Sherwood Lollar decided to Taste this 2 billion year old liquidtaking a drop on the tip of his fingers. According to her, she had A very salty and bitter tastewhich did not surprise him. Indeed, in the same way that a wine becomes gradually less acidic, the liquid of this former Canadian mine has become increasingly salty (more than seawater) due to the rocks in contact with it.
Article reference:
A source of water 2 billion years old discovered, its surprising taste revealed by scientistsScience&Vie (21/07/2025), Aurians Polge
