angelburst29
The Living Force
A series of underground lakes in South Dakota that are absent to any animal life or easily detectable microscopic organisms.
South Dakota's Underground Lakes May Hold Purest Water On Earth
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wind-cave-national-park-purest-water_55e1c8f0e4b0b7a963393563?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. (AP) — Hundreds of feet beneath the Black Hills, a team of scientists and researchers snake through dark, narrow and silent corridors of ancient rock to reach their goal: what is thought to be some of the purest water on Earth.
The crew of National Park Service scientists that's anchored by microbiologist Hazel Barton travels sporadically to the lowest reaches of South Dakota's Wind Cave National Park to study a series of underground lakes, which were discovered in the 1960s and aren't home to any animal life or even easily detectable microscopic organisms.
To gather the necessary samples, caving experience is crucial: It takes more than two hours for even the most adept cavers to reach Calcite Lake, the nearest body of water. "It's certainly not a route for the inexperienced," according to park service scientist Marc Ohms, who often joins Barton and, by his count, has made over 50 trips.
Because there are so few living things in the lakes' ecosystem, the organisms have to fight for survival. Thus, the bacteria's predatory characteristics could help scientists find new antibiotics, Barton said. Having exhausted other routes, they're turning to exotic environments like big, deep caves for that very reason.
South Dakota's Underground Lakes May Hold Purest Water On Earth
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wind-cave-national-park-purest-water_55e1c8f0e4b0b7a963393563?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. (AP) — Hundreds of feet beneath the Black Hills, a team of scientists and researchers snake through dark, narrow and silent corridors of ancient rock to reach their goal: what is thought to be some of the purest water on Earth.
The crew of National Park Service scientists that's anchored by microbiologist Hazel Barton travels sporadically to the lowest reaches of South Dakota's Wind Cave National Park to study a series of underground lakes, which were discovered in the 1960s and aren't home to any animal life or even easily detectable microscopic organisms.
To gather the necessary samples, caving experience is crucial: It takes more than two hours for even the most adept cavers to reach Calcite Lake, the nearest body of water. "It's certainly not a route for the inexperienced," according to park service scientist Marc Ohms, who often joins Barton and, by his count, has made over 50 trips.
Because there are so few living things in the lakes' ecosystem, the organisms have to fight for survival. Thus, the bacteria's predatory characteristics could help scientists find new antibiotics, Barton said. Having exhausted other routes, they're turning to exotic environments like big, deep caves for that very reason.