Dallol, at the frontiers of life
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Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
The geothermal site of Dallol combines the most extreme conditions on Earth, temperatures, hyperacidity, salinity, aridity.
A volcano located under thick layers of salt favors the ascent of hot water which is loaded with mineral elements deposit on the surface a real mineral rainbow. Since 2016, an international team of microbiologists, geologists, and crystallographers have been examining the site in the hope of finding traces of life, where everything seems to oppose its existence.