Ancient secrets

High up in the Himalayas, IISc scientists along with researchers from Niigata University, Japan, have discovered droplets of water trapped in mineral deposits that were likely left behind from an ancient ocean that existed around 600 million years ago. Analysis of the deposits, which had both calcium and magnesium carbonates, has also allowed the team to provide a possible explanation for events that might have led to a major oxygenation event in the earth’s history.