Last month, Canadian miners discovered a cache of water that had been sealed for around 1,5 billion years.

In today’s news, further studies of the same H2O mixture of decaying radioactive atoms has since been proclaimed as the oldest water to be discovered and it’s…salty.

Barbara Sherwood Lollar, an Earth sciences professor at the University of Toronto told the LA Times the following when asked about tasting the ancient liquid:

What jumps out at you first is the saltiness. Because of the reactions between the water and the rock, it is extremely salty. It is more viscous than tap water. It has the consistency of a very light maple syrup. It doesn’t have color when it comes out, but as soon as it comes into contact with oxygen it turns an orangy color because the minerals in it begin to form — especially the iron.

I have to admit I have tasted it from time to time. It tastes terrible. It is much saltier than seawater. You would definitely not want to drink this stuff. We are interested in the saltiest waters because they are the oldest, and tasting is the quick-and-dirty way to find which are the most salty. I don’t let the students do it, though.

According to Lollar: “The water has the same kind of energy that supports the microbial life found near deep-sea vents and in the South African goldmine.” It’s proven that such properties in water are habitable, but it will take up to a year to find out these specific results.

If you would like to read an interview with Barbara Sherwood Lollar about her water studies, click here.

[Source: Gizmodo]