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Extreme environment of the Atacama Desert: Geology, Extremophiles, and its connection to Exobiology
Jíra, Stanislav ; Culka, Adam (advisor) ; Vítek, Petr (referee)
Because of the position in the subtropical climate belt, high altitudes, cold Humboldt Current, Andean rain-shadow, and a few other factors, the Atacama Desert is known for its hyper-arid conditions which are persisting here for a few tens of millions of years. That is why this place is called the driest non-polar place in the world. Aridity is present here since Mesozoic. Because of these conditions, Atacama was thought to be completely inhabitable and inappropriate for any life forms. Despite all the limiting factors, microbial life here exists. Microorganisms have created adaptations in the forms of specialized metabolisms, proteins, and most importantly in form of photoprotective pigments. Except for the structural mechanisms, extremophiles can choose a strategy of living evaporitic minerals, which are quite common in Atacama. For understanding these forms of life many scientific methods are used, for example Raman spectroscopy. Methods that are used here are often used also in extraterrestrial conditions, mainly on the planet Mars, which shares with Atacama few similarities (e.g., some evaporitic minerals). The study of adaptations and capabilities of extremophilic microorganisms can help to broaden the knowledge and understanding of how incredibly resilient life is. Keywords: The Atacama...
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