back to article Ancient water found in Canada is two billion years old – giving hope to Mars colony dreamers

Canada's oldest pool of water, nestled deep within a mine, is approximately two billion years old – and it could have sustained life, scientists have discovered. Scientists collaborated with mining companies to drill deep into the Kidd Mine, Ontario, approximately three kilometers below to discover the oldest water samples. …

  1. Potemkine Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Close

    The new discovery for the oldest water source beats the old record by 500,000 years. Water also found in Kidd Mine at 2.4 kilometers was estimated to be 1.5 billion years old.

    There may be a ",000" missing ^^

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Close

      Ah, I missed the reference to the 1.5 billion year old water. I was going to object that the uncertainty of the water's age at measured at 2 billion years old had to be at least a couple orders of magnitude larger than only 500,000 years!

      1. Faux Science Slayer

        "New! Amazing! Wrongco Proxy Crock!" at CanadaFreePress

        Every proxy is a crock based on linear extrapolation beyond reason.

        ALL water on Earth is a fission byproduct, "Earth's Missing Geothermal Flux" at FauxScienceSlayer

        1. HieronymusBloggs

          Re: "New! Amazing! Wrongco Proxy Crock!" at CanadaFreePress

          "ALL water on Earth is a fission byproduct"

          No, the oxygen in it is a fusion byproduct, just like all other elements apart from hydrogen.

    2. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: Close

      Thanks - but can you email corrections@theregister.com next time, please? That way we can fix it quickly rather than much later when we get round to reading the comments.

      Cheers.

      C.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Headmaster

        Re: Close

        @diodesign

        Nah, far more fun embarrassing the Reg hacks in public for their school boy errors . After all you did give us a pedantic grammar nazi icon to play with.

        1. Hollerithevo

          Re: Close

          Excuse me, I find 'pedantic grammar nazi' offensive. Please use alt.write.

        2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Close

          "a pedantic grammar nazi icon"

          I've often wondered - is that a photo of Jimmy Edwards? Whacko!

          1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

            Re: Close

            I've always thought it was Jimmy Edwards.

        3. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. David Roberts

    How long

    Before it is on sale in bottles?

    1. Chris G

      Re: How long

      Nah, it's well past it's sell by date.

    2. elDog

      Re: How long

      Oh, you beat me to it. My Fuji Water special ($9 in a hotel for 0.5L) - not even harvested in Fuji.

      Just think - the Canadians can stop raping the oil sands of Alberta and start tapping the deep aquifers under their large part of North America. I think we'd all have to drink a hell-of-a-lot of H2O before the subsidence starts causing earthquakes (ala fractal drilling/extraction/injection.)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Scotch

      Is it good with Laphroaig?

      1. Radio Wales
        Facepalm

        Empty minds.

        NO! Laphroaig is best served dry.

  3. jake Silver badge

    How much did the drilling ...

    ... contaminate it?

    1. Muscleguy
      FAIL

      Re: How much did the drilling ...

      Yeah, us stupid scientist who are incapable of thinking about such things, controlling for them or working out ways of sampling which do not contaminate the source. We are such dumbasses we need people like you to do our thinking for us.

      /Snark

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Orv Silver badge

          Re: How much did the drilling ...

          The article seemed to imply it was a flowing well (hence "more than expected"), so presumably contamination would have been pushed out away from the source.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: How much did the drilling ...

        "Yeah, us stupid scientist who are incapable of thinking about such things, controlling for them or working out ways of sampling which do not contaminate the source."

        Nevertheless, one thing does worry me about this dating. There's only one radio-isotope found in water itself, tritium and that has a half-life far too short to be used in dating of this age. They're dating it on the isotopic make-up of the solutes. How do they demonstrate that they've been in solution that long?

        I spent half my working life having to be concerned with contamination of samples, including dating samples. They're valid concerns and they're not addressed in the article nor in the linked abstract so you can have your snark back, thank you.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    John the head driller keeps quiet about the piss he took down the drill hole shortly before they discovered the "2 billion year old" water.

  5. Random Handle

    Sounds Familiar...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/oldest-water-earth-canada-mine_n_3281326.html

    [though it was 2.6 billion years old last time]

    1. Rattlerjake

      Re: Sounds Familiar...

      This is hilarious, considering that the earth is only 7000(+/-) years old!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sounds Familiar...

        My school teacher told me that the earth was 2960 years old (at the time) and strapped my legs when I begged to disagree.

        It seemed that there was only 1000 of our earth years before Christ (Long may he be remembered) so any wild talk of 'billions' is clearly heresy.

        Not wishing to become embroiled in current abuse issues I post anonymously.

  6. a well wisher

    But once its bottled, Its "use by date",will be two weeks next Tuesday

    1. Muscleguy

      ;-) which is of course because the plastic and the seal at the top are nowhere near as good as 3km of rock in keeping the water pristine. You want your water to have a longer shelf life, you are going to need a bigger pocket to put it in.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I'm pretty sure its 'use by' date was always last Sunday.

      One is therefore obligated to return to source and buy another.

  7. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
    Trollface

    Mars Colony Dreamers

    so whats the point of colonising Mars again?

    apart from the fun of it, and I'm all for that, Its no more habitable than earth.

    Far Far less in fact

    Even though we have pollutted the planet to death

    Even if we thoroughly nuked the place.

    My point is whatever biosphere thing they are planning for mars they could equally do on earth. Under the sea even - that would give us a 200% space increase!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

      1) Adventure.

      2) Place to sit out a global disaster (on Earth).

      3) The technology required to get there at reasonable cost could be used to make Earth a better place.

      1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

        Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

        1) Adventure.

        Yeah I'm all for having a laugh (we Vogons are known for it) , but when it costs all of humanity's resources and more money than has ever been imagined (even by Han Solo) perhaps it could be better employed at home.

        2) Place to sit out a global disaster (on Earth).

        Like I said, you could sit out even a nuclear winter or global tsunamis a lot easier here than moving to mars

        3) The technology required to get there at reasonable cost could be used to make Earth a better place.

        Indeed , so lets just develop the technology and skip moving to Mars

        1. The Nazz

          Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

          In all seriousness, wouldn't it be far far cheaper and much simpler to not keep paying fantastic amounts of money/resources to expand the earth's population?

          Reduce it in fact, at BOTH ends of the age scale?

          1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
            Thumb Up

            Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

            "Reduce it in fact, at BOTH ends of the age scale?"

            I'm all for that. Far too many people on this planet. Not sustainable once the fossil fuel is gone.

            However I'm not sure how you can reduce both ends of the age scale.

            Are you suggesting having people born at puberty , ready to be productive and skip all that tedious crawling on the floor shitting all over the place stages? oh , wait - you mean less of them, ala china.gotcha. Yep I'm all for that. I've made a start by not having any myself.

            1. mstreet
              Go

              "Reduce it in fact, at BOTH ends of the age scale?"

              This has all been thought through and solved years ago by Mr Adams...

              1> Build a spacecraft big enough to hold a third of the human population.

              2> Build two, non-working life sized models of craft from step 1.

              3> Divide earths population into 3 groups: Doers; Thinkers; err...Others.

              4> Announce imminent destruction of earth.

              5> "Save" third group by launching them into space using REAL craft.

              6> Dismantle models of other 2 craft.

          2. Tom Paine

            Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

            In all seriousness, wouldn't it be far far cheaper and much simpler to not keep paying fantastic amounts of money/resources to expand the earth's population?

            Reduce it in fact, at BOTH ends of the age scale?

            The good news is that Mr Trump is working on it.

          3. Mark 85
            Thumb Down

            Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

            Reduce it in fact, at BOTH ends of the age scale?

            You first. Oh wait.. you meant for the rest of us.

        2. Poncey McPonceface
          Go

          Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

          > Indeed , so lets just develop the technology and skip moving to Mars

          Humans are goal-oriented. So much so that the working hypothesis for the creation of the universe has for most of human history revolved around a super-natural being with a singular purpose in mind. There's even a fancy schmancy word for it: teleology.

          The goal of colonizing Mars will spur technological development to a far greater extent than not having that goal. Same as the Space Race, and various arms races -- all goal-oriented in their own way.

          1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

            Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

            "The goal of colonizing Mars will spur technological development"

            Fine , as long as we all understand we're not actually doing it - just going through the motions and sending a couple people as proof-of-concept - and then use all that delicious technology back here.

            You wouldnt like it anyway. The scenerys nice but the weathers terrible.

            and they dont even have wifi.

            and more to the point Theres NO F********** Oxygen!

            or food

            you could survive just as well marooned in space.

            or on a rubber dinghy in the atlantic for that matter , which brings me back to my original point

          2. Tom Paine

            Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

            Well, yes, but:

            (1) we didn't need an interplanetary space program to develop LCD displays or mobile phones or gene therapy or, or, or,...

            (2) throwing lots of R&D money at any problem will produce technological spin-offs. I am (I dare say) more of a space geek than many here (unmannedspaceflight.com much?) but you don't need humans to do the science and exploring when you can do it a thousandth of the cost and risk with robots. I bet there'd be plenty of spin-offs from a, say, $15Bn project for a Europa lander / ice borer / sub-surface submarine.

        3. Michael Thibault

          Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

          >lets [sic] just develop the technology and skip moving to Mars

          In other words, send 'just the head'. If humanity ever gets its head out of its existential arse, it will realise that it has a duty to go to the stars. In baby steps, if needs be--but to go is a must. The moon having been reached, the next way-point for footprints is, necessarily, Mars. Sure, it's a larger leap, but it will have to be attempted eventually--and all the robotic exploration is merely a data-gathering, technology-perfecting run-up (see what I did there, and there) to landing, and standing, on the red soil.

      2. Rattlerjake

        Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

        It would be worth the cost to send all of the Hil-LIAR-y and Buttcrack Ovomit supporters there!

    2. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

      Surely Mr Jeltz would should support moving humans off Earth, just in case of a sudden outbreak of bypass-building?

      Don't put all your Basques in one exit...

      1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

        Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

        " just in case of a sudden outbreak of bypass-building?"

        If there are any bypasses to be be built you will find clear notices on display at your local planning office.

    3. inmypjs Silver badge

      Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

      "so whats the point of colonising Mars again?"

      Trekies need somewhere to go boldly.

    4. Frank Bitterlich
      Go

      Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

      "so whats the point of colonising Mars again?"

      I don't remember the details, but it had something to do with a giant star goat about to eat our planet, or something.

      Anyway, don't ask too much, make sure you don't miss your ark. Yes, that one, with the big letter "B" printed on it's side. Don't worry, the autopilot will take care of it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

        Don't send the 'B' ark, it is a mistake we have made once already. Unfortunately we need all humans, even telephone sanitizers.. and marketing (shivers)

    5. Orv Silver badge

      Re: Mars Colony Dreamers

      Ever see the Onion article, "Richest 1% Complete Construction of Private Escape Pod"?

      The idea that we should go all in on colonizing Mars, instead of solving the problems we have here, implicitly implies the lives of roughly 7 billion people are not worth saving as long as there's a lucky few elsewhere.

      Why do you think Elon Musk is so keen to retire there?

  8. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Does this mean the Hollow Earth is actually flooded?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can see it now...

    Get your two billion year old water while it lasts!! Only £10000 per bottle (health benefits not guaranteed)...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hmmm

    I'm pretty sure I've seen some older cups of tea in server rooms. Could have spared them a lot of digging action

  11. Lion

    Time for a plug

    This discovery will add to the knowledge base. Humans need water to survive no matter where they go. A trip to Mars is more about the technology that allows Humans to travel in space with the ultimate goal of reaching an Earth-like planet and setting up digs there. A colony on a hostile planet would require constant care packages from Earth, so it would be of limited benefit.

    T.Boone Pickens said that 'water is the new oil'. He owns more water rights than anybody else in the world. He and his multi-billionaire cohorts have and are continuing to buy up water rights world wide at an unprecedented rate. Eventually, we will have to leave Earth, not to go boldly where no-one else has gone before, but because we will not be able to afford to buy water that is here.

  12. W Donelson

    Just the trip ONE WAY to Mars shortens life by 15-24 years. There is no shielding existing or imagined which can block this.

    https://www.wired.com/2014/04/radiation-risk-iss-mars/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      Mars is full of water

      > Just the trip ONE WAY to Mars shortens life by 15-24 years.

      1. You are getting lost in scientific facts. Marketing is protesting.

      2. Because we found two billion years old water on Earth, it follows without doubt that the same kind of water exists on Mars. No question about it.

      3. Just because none of the bazillion-years-old water samples from Earth had any trace of life, that doesn't mean the ancient water on Mars - that we haven't found yet - isn't full of life. Quite the opposite. The ancient water on Mars - that we haven't found - is totally full of life.

      4. Snark.

  13. Servman

    Nestle has already started pumping...

  14. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Holistic Medicine - opportunity of a lifetime

    As we know, water has memory. [?]

    So, this water must have some measureable medicinal effects that would reveal the environmental chemicals that it was in contact with BILLIONS of years, and hundreds of dilutions, ago.

    The practitioners of Holistic Medicine need to be given a sample for testing. Immediately. This should be the opportunity of a lifetime, for direct and measureable insight into the precise environmental conditions billions of years ago.

    I expect a full report.

  15. Tom 64
    Facepalm

    Surface of Saturn!?

    CMIIAW, but last time I checked, Saturn was a gas giant and doesn't exactly have a solid surface. At least not one you can get to without being crushed to the size of a penny, and boiled alive.

  16. NeilPost Silver badge

    LOL, it will be extracted and sold to dumb people for USD$10 a bottle. The same sort of planet hating morons who buy Fiji or Glacial water.

  17. FireBurn

    Venus

    I've always wondered if it would somehow be easier to terraform Venus, which is much more earth like, than trying to settle on Mars - it would probably be useful in the future if global warming gets out of control too

    1. Orv Silver badge

      Re: Venus

      I've wondered about that too. On the other hand, if we figured out the tech to terraform Venus, it would be easier to just use the same tech to reverse climate change here on Earth; Venus is so hot because of its runaway greenhouse effect.

  18. Lord_Beavis
    Alert

    And yet....

    The Earth is only about 6000 years old...

  19. adam 40 Silver badge

    Adnam's must make beer out of it...

    I want a pint of two billion year old ale - you could really call that "A pint of Old"

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon