Lake Don Juan is the saltiest body of water on Earth Bashny.Net

Dona Juan Pond is a small ankle-deep lake located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. You can find this reservoir between the Asgard mountain range and Olympus. With a salinity level of over 40%, it is the saltiest known mass of water on earth. The body of water is 18 times saltier than the ocean or twice saltier than the Dead Sea in Jordan. Even though Don Juan is located in one of the coldest regions in Antarctica, the water never freezes, even at minus 40 degrees Celsius.



It is believed that the reservoir of Don Juan gets its salt from the streams of groundwater seeping out of the mountain crevices and dissolving minerals. However, recent research by a team of geologists at Brown University proves that the lake gets its salt from precipitation, not groundwater.

The researchers found that at high humidity, salt around the pond absorbs moisture. The salt-soaked water seeps through the soil until it reaches the permafrost layer. This discovery is very important, because similar masses of water may well form on Mars.

Images of water footprints in this area are very similar to footprints on the slopes of Mars. The same dark bands can be observed on the cliffs of Martian cliffs. They often appear in the same places in the same seasons. Some scientists believe that these bands indicate water flows, which is the best evidence that Mars does have moisture.

In addition, a salt identical in composition to the salt of Lake Don Juan was found on Mars. Importantly, processes in Antarctica do not require groundwater, which does not currently exist on Mars.

Scientists believe that the reservoir of Don Juan is the best place to simulate the conditions of life on Mars, due to extreme conditions, intense cold, aridity, hypersalinity and high ultraviolet radiation.

The lake was named after two helicopter pilots, Lieutenant Don Rowe and Lieutenant John Hickey, who discovered the lake in 1961.



Source: lifeglobe.net/