University of Buckingham News
Article by Barry diGregorio (20 March 2017)
A new paper published in the Journal of Geology by BCAB researcher Barry E. DiGregorio and others makes parallels between manganese oxide rock varnish on Earth and on Mars. They calculated the growth rate of rapidly forming rock varnish found on rocks on the Erie Canal in Western New York State in the USA. If microbes are creating varnish on Mars in a similar way, any organic material entombed within it should be able to be detected by analyzing the manganese oxides by the Mars Science Laboratory organic analysis instrument known as SAM. Read more in the Publication of the week section.
A 30-minute interview with Professor Wikramasinghe was broadcast on Sri Lanka TV1 on 7 February. It can be seen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGmVLFDpvI