H. Vali, Perennial spring occurrence in the Expedition Fiord area of western Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. Perennial springs located on west central Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian High Arctic provide useful analogs to liquid water habitats that may have existed on the planet Mars during a more clement past. Spring flow rates and discharge temperatures are constant throughout the year and filamentous bacteria, biofilms and mineral precipitates occur in association with the emergent brine flowing from the springs. This highly mineralized environment provides the requisite physical and chemical setting that allows for the preservation of biological information within travertines and thick salt deposits found along the flow paths. The springs located at Axel Heiberg provide an example of how hydrothermal systems operate in the presence of thick permafrost - as would have been expected to be present on early Mars.
Hot water emerging from deep within a planet arrives at the surface and cools quickly.
Under such circumstances the minerals dissolved in the hot water rapidly precipitate and any life forms in the water are efficiently preserved as fossils. However on Earth, hydrothermal springs and their studies are usually associated with groundwater systems in temperate latitudes and the extension of these analog sites to a perennially cold world like Mars is uncertain. Our studies are focused upon hydrothermal springs in the Arctic Archipelago, which provide a more realistic physical setting for early Mars than temperate settings. Like their counterparts in temperate regions, these springs generate mineral deposits that trap and fossilize microorganisms. At Expedition Fiord mineralized groundwater discharges from two groups of springs, each consisting of 20-40 vents and seeps spread over several hundred square metres.