October 13, 2010

Post date: Oct 25, 2010 6:17:32 AM

Mono Lake covers 60 square miles, and is 2 ½ times saltier than the ocean. Scientists counted 2 million eared grebes on the lake this week! It is now officially the most important migration stop for eared grebes in North America. For more information, go to: http://www.monolake.org/

As we walked along the shore at Mono Lake, a rain shower passed over and the sun came out. The rainbow afterward was spectacular!

On the same day we hiked at Mono Lake, NASA scientists were there testing a new prototype for the next generation Mars Rover. They planned to core tufa towers (like the ones below) as practice for taking rock samples on Mars.

Update December 2, 2010: Scientists today announced the discovery of a new form of life at Mono Lake – a microbe that substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its DNA. NASA scientists hope that this discovery increases the odds for finding exotic life on other planets.