1.5-billion-year old water is discovered.

How old is the water in your neck of the woods?

Well, water from a mine in Timmins, Ontario is reportedly the oldest ever found dating back to at least one and a half billion years ago.
By drilling down about one and a half miles and taking a sample of ancient water trapped in rock, scientists have determined it contains xenon gas giving them an indication of its age. They are now studying the samples for possible microorganisms.

There have been similar discoveries of water trapped underground in South Africa that are tens of millions of years old, but this discovery is thought to be the oldest.

The water sample has a level of hydrogen gas similar to hydrothermal vents, some of which are home to their own unique ecosystems.

If microorganisms are found to be living in the water, it could give scientists more information about how life evolved on Earth.

Professor Chris Ballentine from Manchester University said: “The study has consequences for our understanding of how early life on Earth may have migrated into these kinds of environments and been protected from cataclysmic events at the surface.”