In the deserts of Namibia, Oman and Saudi Arabia, researchers discovered puzzle tube structures that could be a maximum of two million years old. The origin remains unclear – probably they were generated by micro -organisms that used calcium carbonate as nutrient.
“However, we do not know at the moment whether it is a way of life that is extinct or that is still alive somewhere,” said Geologist Cee Paschier of the University of Mainz. The study was published in the specialized magazine “Geomicrobiology Journal”.
The researchers discovered the tube in the desert areas of Namibia, Oman and Saudi Arabia. They are about half a millimeter wide and up to three centimeters long. They were parallel to parallel and therefore formed tires with a maximum of ten meters long.
Tubes can be millions of years old
The first finds were 15 years ago in Namibia. Together with colleagues, Paschier has now better investigated the finds. “The assumptions could have drill the tunnels to use nutrients in calcium carbonate, ie the marble building block,” said it.
“In all cases they are old structures, maybe one or two million years old,” said the scientist. Which organism has these structures causes a mystery.
500 to 600 million years ago, the continents combined to form the Gondwana Supercontinent. At that time, the deposits of Limeescale were formed in the Old Oceans, which had become marble because of pressure and heat. According to Paschier, the strange structures that do not go back to geological events in this marble fell.
Source: Krone
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