Scientists have discovered underground water that dates back 1.5 billion years. These bodies of water may contain ancient life forms which could possibly be the oldest on Earth.
A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature stated that the water was discovered in two locations: below a gold mine in South Africa and in another mine in Ontario, Canada. The latter of the two had a pocket dating back 1.5 billion years to Earth's "earliest crustal history."
The Ontario samples were found in the small town of Timmins, about 350 miles north of Toronto. Miners are currently drilling holes in the bedrock searching for samples.
The study adds that these waters could "preserve a record of the fluid chemistry and environment at the time of mineralization." Scientists are hopeful that they will be able to locate ancient life which could have evolved independently from everything on the surface of the planet.
These waters could be even older than the initials estimates however. Geochemist Greg Holland and his team studied the decay of radioactive atoms in the water and found that it had been sitting there for at least 1.5 billion years.
"That is the lower limit for the age," Holland stated. He added that it could be a billion years older. This would've been long before mammals, dinosaurs, or even any multicellular life existed.
"It's managed to stay isolated for almost half the lifetime of the Earth," Holland said. He added, "There's a lot of hydrogen in these samples."
This is relevant because hydrogen is a food source for some microorganisms. The team behind the study is working hard to test the water for these ancient microbes.
Scientists also note that their findings may even offer clues into extraterrestrial life. Billions of years ago the environments on Earth and Mars would have been fairly similar, so if researchers can locate life in these waters, that may be evidence that Mars may have supported life in the past.
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