The Place Which Time Forgot!!!

There are many areas with scarce water supply in Africa. Despite of our magical Nile still many places struggle for fresh water. Some countries in Africa are using the groundwater as their main source of water because desalination of sea or ocean waters is a very expensive process.

Groundwater is a reservoir for fresh water. Despite that the groundwater is continually renewed and increased by percolation of water from above, the rate of this cycle is very slow. Thus, any active or fast withdrawal of the groundwater will lead to its depletion.

What is interesting, is that the oldest groundwater is ALSO in Africa...surprise ...surprise !!!

It is a research paper that I have recently read. A group of researchers studied the chemical characteristics of the groundwater in an area in South Africa called "Witwatersrand Basin". The deepest part of the basin was 3 kilometer deep. Nobel gases isotopes were used for dating. The age of these waters was estimated to be millions of years ago.

Another important observation noted by the researchers, is that they found some microbial communities that have some genetic similarities to some of the known existing organisms but not identical. These deep microbes had somehow found a way to this water and since then they have been isolated for millions of years. The researchers will be continuing their studies on Witwatersrand basin, this time they will also conduct a biological study to know where exactly on the evolutionary scale do these organisms belong and why did they stop at that stage.

I guess time was frozen down there....may these organisms can tell us how to manipulate time ... who know what will happen once they emerge here!!!

That is actually what I love about research, at any moment where you think that you have answered all the questions....you are always surprised by something you weren't even thinking about. May be these pre-historic organisms carry the cure for cancer, being so pure and completely isolated from the earth's pollution and all human made problems...who knows what will they find if they dig a little more deeper too !!!

If you want to read the whole article:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009254111000544

Image credit by John Poyser via Wikimedia Commons