Deep sea wrinkles reveal ancient chemosynthetic microbes

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
A chance observation on a Moroccan hillside has revealed that some wrinkled rock textures from the deep sea may actually be fossilized microbial communities, not just products of underwater landslides. While hiking in 2016, University of Texas at Austin geologist Rowan Martindale noticed a slab of sedimentary rock with a distinctive wrinkled surface that looked like classic microbial mat fossils