Located In Canada, Last Chance Lake May Mimic The Ideal Conditions For Life To Emerge On Earth Approximately Four Billion Years Ago
A lake in the Canadian province of British Columbia may mimic the ideal conditions for life to emerge on Earth roughly four billion years ago. The body of water is called Last Chance Lake, and it is a shallow, salty pool with an unusual blend of chemicals.
The lake is situated on volcanic rock and is no more than a foot deep. According to Sebastian Haas, the lead author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, the lake has phosphate concentrations that are a thousand times higher than the ocean.
Phosphate is essential for making various life-forming compounds, such as nucleotides, which are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. Phosphate is found in every living being, but it is extremely rare to see the element by itself in nature.
Last Chance Lake is just one of several “soda lakes.” These bodies of water have high levels of dissolved sodium and carbonate, which makes them similar to bowls of water with large amounts of dissolved baking soda.
This is where the name “soda lakes” comes from. The specific chemical composition is what allows the lakes to have elevated concentrations of phosphate.
In freshwater lakes, phosphate binds to calcium to form calcium phosphate. But in soda lakes, calcium binds with carbonate and magnesium, so phosphate is left alone.
Because of the extreme saltiness of Last Chance Lake, it is hard for life to exist there. So, how did life potentially originate from such conditions?
Between 2021 and 2022, researchers visited Last Chance Lake to collect and analyze samples of the water and sediment. The largest organisms they recorded at the lake were brine flies and brine shrimp.
They also discovered that the lake was not just a hotspot for phosphate. It also contained much of the mineral dolomite, which allows phosphorous to build up.
Sandra Cunningham – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The dolomite formed as a result of a reaction between calcium, magnesium, and carbonate in the lake.
The arid climate produced by high levels of phosphate combined with the minerals from the volcanic rock the lake was formed on created the ideal conditions for life on Earth to emerge.
Last Chance Lake appeared about 10,000 years ago after the last ice age. It is estimated that the lake is at least 3,300 years old.
It is fed by very small amounts of groundwater and spring water. The harsh conditions at the lake may have resembled the environment where life originated on Earth.
“We’re definitely not claiming that life emerged at Last Chance Lake,” Haas said. “A similar lake may have plausibly existed four billion years ago somewhere on Earth, and we’re using Last Chance Lake to understand what this environment would have looked like.”
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