In New Zealand, researchers suggest that an ancient riverbed under farmland may be laden with gold. Even though extraction probably can’t be accomplished anytime soon, the group focuses on tracking fish movements to find these hidden riches. The latest findings were published in the scientific journal Eosthis Wednesday (22).
New Zealand straddles the boundary of two tectonic plates, so it is in constant turmoil. In the midst of this geological movement are tiny native freshwater fish (species of the genus galaxies).
In the southern province of Otago, rivers also carry gold, something that was heavily exploited by miners a few centuries ago. However, experts deduced that a large river system carried most of this ore to a neighboring province called Southland.
Over time, the two provinces became separated by a mountain range that prevents water from flowing between these provinces, but in the late 1990s, researchers theorized a connection between Southland and Otago, taking into account a species of galaxies that lived in both provinces. sides.
At the time, experts raised the possibility that the river had been reversed by the rising mountains, splitting the fish population in two. With that, they realized that they could use the rate of genetic divergence between the two fish populations to identify the date of this reversal.
Over the course of studies, scientists were able to calibrate a kind of “geogenomic clock” that can help predict where ancient rivers with gold may be buried.
According to the group, studying the genetics of fish is often much more useful than rocks when it comes to constraining the exact time of geological events when looking for mineral deposits.
Source: Eos
