Some microbes can survive in boiling water and toxic minerals!
Most aquatic plants and animals need clean water with lots of oxygen. In places like Yellowstone National Park’s hot springs and the Dead Sea, most organisms can’t survive. This doesn’t mean that those areas are entirely lifeless! There exists a rare species called Archaea, which thrives in these environments. These are ancient single-celled organisms that can live in some of the harshest environments on earth.
Archaea that live in extreme environments are called extremophiles. These environments include boiling geysers, highly saline water, and alkaline pools. For example, the rainbow pools at Yellowstone National Park have rings of color. Each ring has a different temperature and is home to different species of archaea.
In Cuatro Ciénegas in the Mexican desert, the water pools are similar to prehistoric ocean waters and have microscopic life that can teach scientists about the ancient earth.
Geiling, N. (2014, May 7). The science behind Yellowstone's rainbow hot spring. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/science-behind-yellowstones-rainbow-hot-spring-180950483
Meyer-Dombard, D., Shock, E. L., & Amend, J. P. (2005). Archaeal and bacterial communities in geochemically diverse hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, USA. Geobiology, 3(3), 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4669.2005.00052.x
Oren, A. (1994). The ecology of the extremely halophilic archaea. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 13(4), 415–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6976.1994.tb00060.x
Pérez Ortega, R. (2020, July 23). Pools in the Mexican desert are a window into Earth's early life. Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/pools-mexican-desert-are-window-earth-s-early-life
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