Specialists from the Korea Institute of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources reported in the magazine “Communications Earth & Environment” about the discovery of “stromatolites” in the Hapcheon Basin, which is the only confirmed meteorite crater on the Korean Peninsula.
Researchers believe that the “stromatolites” formed in a hydrothermal lake that arose after the collision with the Earth’s asteroid.
The heat emanating from the molten rocks formed as a result of the collision may have maintained a high temperature in the water for a long time and saturated it with minerals, creating ideal conditions for the reproduction of microbes.
Stromatolites are one of the oldest known evidence of life on Earth, and are formed by microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria, which produce oxygen during photosynthesis. (Russia Today)
