Bacteria: Found in the lava tubes of the Hawaiian Islands

To the islands Hawaii some scientists have found an astonishing assortment of bacteria that swarm inside lava tubes. The latter are very numerous in Hawaii and near volcanic vents. Bacteria are microorganisms that are everywhere, even in extreme conditions. Many of these live in cold environments that resemble lava tubes on Mars. They are formed when the lake surface material of the lava flow cools. The result is a shell for the lava that continues to flow into it until the flow is exhausted. Eventually the lava tube is completely empty.

Most lava tubes were formed between 65 and 800 years ago. They haven’t gotten any sunlight since then. They could be inside toxic gases. Despite this, there are bacteria in large numbers. However, the researchers were unable to understand and identify which species they belong to. These microorganisms have always been neglected by the studies of biologists. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest, as it has been discovered that they can live on Mars or on gas planets. Despite this, 99.99% of them are still unknown.

Returning to the discovery of bacteria in the lava tubes. Among the many organisms named Chloroflexia And Acidobacteria they are present in almost all types of lava, regardless of their age. Here it is assumed that there are basic bacteria called center. Among these exactly i Chloroflexia they give large amounts of carbon to the ecosystem, with minimal light energy that can reach very dark places. For now, they are just hypotheses, but the study was and will be useful in understanding the behavior of bacteria. Always dependent on theirs community and not individually.