A team of scientists has added to our understanding of how organic matter is preserved over long periods of time in extremely dry environments. The researchers studied the accumulation and preservation of lipid biomarkers in the Yungay region of the Atacama Desert. Findings indicate that the hyperaridity of soils in this region result in minimal degradation of the biomarkers over geological time scales. The results could have implications in the search for biomarkers of ancient life on Earth and Mars.

The study, “Xeropreservation of functionalized lipid biomarkers in hyperarid soils in the Atacama Desert,” was published in the journal Organic Geochemistry. The work was supported by NASA Astrobiology through the Exobiology & Evolutionary Biology Program.