From afar, the geothermal field is vibrant and colorful, but no one can get too close. Places like the North and South Poles, the equator, deserts, and the Dead Sea are famous for their harsh environments, but still have unique life forms. Scientists have discovered an area so hostile that it cannot sustain any form of life. It is the site of the harshest environment on Earth, the Dallol geothermal field, an extremely hot, salty, and acidic area.
Dallol is a cone-shaped volcano with a beautiful and unique appearance located in the Danakil depression in Ethiopia, where daytime temperatures exceed 45°C even in winter. The area was formed by the intrusion of basanite magma into salt mines and hydrothermal activity. Dallol is about 100 meters below sea level, has many red rocks, sulfur deposits, and salt mines. Dallol means “destruction” in the local Afar language.
Today, when the volcano is dormant, the Dallol area is covered with long stretches of ponds. Some are super acidic salt ponds with extremely low pH levels. After a series of experiments, researchers discovered that there is no life in the ponds, including microorganisms. These findings were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
“After analyzing a much larger number of samples than previous studies, we can confirm that there is no microbial life in these hot, acidic, and salty basins, as well as in the adjacent magnesium-rich salt lakes called Black and Yellow lakes,” said Purificación López García, a biologist at the French National Research Center.
Humans cannot get close to Dallol either because it is a highly toxic area. The toxic substances come from poisonous gas, hot springs saturated with salt, and the still active volcano. Therefore, only scientists can access Dallol.
Studying and analyzing Dallol is of great significance to science, especially the space industry. Researchers often use evidence of life in harsh environments on Earth as a reference point to determine whether similar environmental conditions can support life on planets within or beyond the solar system. However, with the existence of Dallol, where liquid water is present but nothing can survive, many old studies have been debunked.
