In a Nature News article published today, Argentinean scientists reported that they have found “mysterious microbes” living in a volcanic lagoon in the Puna de Atacama, a desert plateau that sits high in the Andes Mountains more than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) above sea level.

In February 2010, a team led by María Eugenia Farías, a microbiologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Tucumán, Argentina, explored Laguna Diamante inside the still-active Cerro Galán volcano.  The scientists found microbes in water that is “hyper-alkaline (pH 11) and contains concentrations of salt five times higher than those of sea water.” In addition, the concentration of arsenic in the water is “20,000 times higher than the level regarded as safe for drinking water by the US Environmental Protection Agency,” and the volcano is still active, so sulphur gases escaping from vents makes the environment even more hostile.

The scientists have not been able to identify the microbes, nor have they been able to identify red crystals also found at the site. “These rocks are made of calcium carbonate associated with little red crystal reefs,” says Farías, “but analysis with X-ray diffraction does not show any known or expected mineral.”

The scientists hope the new organisms will shed light on how life began on Earth because they can tolerate the same extreme conditions that existed when the Earth was young. They also think that their hardiness could hold the key to new medical or commercial applications. In other lagoons, where there were less-extreme conditions, team members have found “antibiotic- and UV-resistant strains of bacteria,” as well as enzymes that can function in extreme conditions. The researchers hope the new, extremely hardy organisms will yield new antioxidants as well as compounds that can filter UV light, and enzymes that could be useful to the biotech industry. [Nature News]

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Andes mountains, Argentina, early Earth, extremophiles, hostile environments, microbes, volcanic lagoons