SMITH Astrobiology Laboratory

SMITH Astrobiology LaboratorySMITH Astrobiology LaboratorySMITH Astrobiology Laboratory

SMITH Astrobiology Laboratory

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Ice Caves & Lava Tubes

Lava Tubes With Permanent Ice

Lava tubes are found on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. They are great places to find chemolithotrophic bacteria that are cold-adapted, or psychrophiles. Ice caves in Oregon harbor bacteria capable of using olivine, a common igneous mineral, for energy. Olivine is also present in igneous rocks on other worlds.

So Excited to be Doing Science in a Cave

It was like a freezer in there but it was one hot summer outside the cave.

Collecting Samples of Rock and Ice

My Masters advisor Radu Popa helping me collect samples in a lava tube in Oregon.

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Announcement

Upcoming Research Expedition to the Cold Seeps of the Gulf of Mexico!

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