Stromatolites on Mars? – IOTW Report

Stromatolites on Mars?

WUWT:

Guest “geological story telling” by David Middleton

The Case for Past Life on Mars Gets Stronger
But how much evidence is needed until we can say there’s proof?

By Dirk Schulze-Makuch
AIRSPACEMAG.COM
APRIL 13, 2020

In a new paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, Vincenzo Rizzo from the National Research Center in Cosenza, Italy, asks a provocative question: Why are many scientists reluctant to accept the use of geological methods to identify biological processes on Mars, when those methods are commonly used on Earth?

He points to a case in Germany from 1908, when a scientist by the name of Ernst Kalkowsky proposed that layered mounds, columns, and sheet-like sedimentary rocks called stromatolites were of biological nature. His contemporaries did not believe him. But Kalkowsky was later proven correct, when it was recognized that stromatolites formed because biofilms—composed of cyanobacteria and other microorganisms—trapped sediments. Stromatolites are now known to be the oldest evidence for life on Earth, stretching back at least 3.5 billion years, and they still exist in some remote regions, such as Shark Bay, Australia.

In his paper Rizzo follows in Kalkowsky’s footsteps by analyzing images from the Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers on Mars that indicate the presence of biotic macrostructures such as stromatolites. He suggests that if no non-biological explanation can be found, the images should be considered as possible candidates for Martian stromatolites. Rizzo shows many examples of structures that have an amazing resemblance to stromatolites on Earth.

[…]

Air & Space Magazine

Why does this remind me of amateur crater hunters? Because, it’s interpreting photographic imagery without physically examining the rocks. The difference is that we can’t, yet, physically examine the rocks on Mars. The rovers and orbiters have provided us with a lot of data about the rocks. Meteorites found on Earth, thought to be from Mars, can be physically examined; but they aren’t representative of the sedimentary geology of Mars. read more

12 Comments on Stromatolites on Mars?

  1. in about 3 billion years from now some alien space travelers will suppose the same hypothesis for a planet once called ‘Earth’

    … the cosmos marches on … & sneezes lifeforms every now & again

    2
  2. Go to “What’s up in the sky 37” on Youtube and check out
    the exploring machine photos showing smashed buildings,
    foundations, 90° angle construction, pipes, ruined machinery,sheet metal and rusted through plates and
    water seeps. Then get a good laugh about the “bacteria”.

    1
  3. We better focus on climbing out of the social crater “Covid-19” has slammed us into first. Mars is a nice distraction from current affairs, but won’t be available as a retreating point anytime soon.

    4
  4. If it weren’t for bullshit, 3/4 of our Academicians would be out of work.
    Look how they’ve done with the Wuhan Flu hoax!
    Same with Globaloney Warming and Archaeology.

    They can now Carbon-date stone!
    They can now predict, with absolute certainty, the day the Ice Caps will melt!
    They can now describe the perfect communistic society which (allegedly) existed in Neolithic times by a LACK of evidence!
    They predicted the course of the Wuhan Flu, and the deaths and sufferings thereof, with absolute precision!
    (or maybe not)

    Science? Maybe … Aryan … or Lysenkan – clearly not Galilean, Copernican, or Newtonian.

    And NO, I’m NOT anti-science – quite the opposite.

    izlamo delenda est …

    6
  5. Microbial life, so what?
    If there were anything, that’s what it would be.
    Most abundant life form on this planet, too.
    Still no evidence of any higher life forms.
    Hard to understand this fascination with ‘life’ on other worlds while wholesale slaughter goes on on this one.
    Scuze me while I Lysol.

    3

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