Japan's Red Snow

Hi ya! Great to see you today! Wassup? You're timing is impeccable. Coffee's fresh or maybe you'd like to try some Iron Buddha tea for a change. That's a new tray of virtual goodies in front of you, too, so dig in!

We watched an interesting program on Japanese TV last night. There's an area in Northern Japan where the winters last more than half of the year. In one area there are many small lakes and in the spring, the melting snow on the lakes turns red. Scientists wanted to find out why so they took a team to the area while the snow was still white. They sunk a two-metre transparent hollow tube in the snow. When they pulled it back up, the snow on the bottom half-metre was various shades of red - deepening as it got to the bottom. So the iron was coming up from the lakebeds. Because of it's volcanic proximity, Japan has many hot springs and the water is often different colours depending on the element in the water.

Using a special field microscope, they put some of the red snow under it and discovered miniscule creatues known as water fleas living in the frozen snow. These creatures are quite transparent and the scientists could see that they has ingested some of the red snow. It turned out to be a nutrient base for them.

Back in their lab, the team analyzed the snow and found that the red colour was due to iron and its reaction with oxygen - thus iron oxide or rust. They also made a startling discovery. In a drop of the heavy red snow, there were many living organizms. These were thriving because of the iron. They did not need oxygen as we know it to live!

Let me repeat that. They did not need oxygen to live! Whoa! That puts a whole new spin on our search for other life forms, wouldn't you say? Now, we should not only be looking for other oxygen-breathing critters like us but life that can live because of iron and/or perhaps other elements. Of course, there is an oxygen component in iron oxide but it just shows that because of what we find in inner space, we need to expand our thinking when it comes to outer space.

Oh and watch out for red snowballs this winter. With the iron in them, they've got to hurt!

See ya, eh!

Bob