Events for December 2025 – Europlanet
18 February 2026 @ 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm UTC+1
Exploring hypersaline environments helps us define the limits of life on Earth and identify the metabolic pathways that drive biogeochemical cycles under conditions that resemble those on early Mars. The La Mancha region features small, seasonal lagoons that are hypersaline, alkaline, and rich in sulfate—conditions that echo the Hesperian-era Martian environment. By integrating geochemical, mineralogical, microbiological, and isotopic data from these lagoons collected in 2022 and 2025, we can uncover the metabolisms that support microbial growth, their impacts on the surrounding environment, and how these systems have chemically and physically evolved over time. This work will provide foundational insights into how desiccation is advancing at these sites and their viability as temporal analogues for ancient Mars.
Speakers: Michael C. Macey and Velislava Ilieva (Open University, UK)
Register here >>https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WNGZEcVGY4ROWp5J4I11AyQ
