Environmental Analogs for the Origin of Life
Why the lakes:
Prebiotic phosphorylation uses ~0.1-1 M phosphate but natural waters are ~1 𝝻M. Lakes concentrate by evaporation or freezing solving this prebiotic “concentration problem”. Last Chance Lake is the most phosphate-rich in the world. Goodenough is also relatively phosphate-rich. Why?
What was done:
Sinking through crème brulee crust
Syringe sampling below Last Chance’s salt crust & filtering
Sediment Coring
Sediment core porewater extraction and/or slicing
