The Geological Sciences Colloquium Series presents Dr. Penny Boston on “The Planet Within: Exploring Cave Habitats on Earth, Mars and Beyond” on Friday, April 4, at 2 p.m. in Walter 235.
Dr. Penny Boston
Boston is Professor of Cave and Karst Science in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at New Mexico Tech. The presentation is funded in part by the Ohio University Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Abstract: We are using the spectacular underground landscapes of Earth caves as models for the subsurfaces of other planets. New Mexico is especially rich in many types of caves, and we are using these to understand possibilities for cave formation on other planets like Mars. Some of the most spectacular and chemically extreme caves on Earth are inhabited by an amazing array of microorganisms. Some eat their way through bedrock, some live in extreme acid conditions, some produce unusual biominerals and rare cave formations, and many produce compounds of potential pharmaceutical and industrial significance. We study these unique lifeforms and the physical and chemical biosignatures that they leave behind. Such traces can be used to provide a “Field Guide to Unknown Organisms” for developing life detection space missions. Additionally, lavatube caves clearly present on Mars and the Moon can also provide the basis for future human habitations on those planets.
Related Event
Boston also will present “Crunchy on the Outside, Tender on the Inside: Long-term Geological Persistence of Microorganisms” on Thursday, April 3, at 7 p.m. in Walter 135.
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