Nov. 4, 2003 — A team of scientists is making its way to a lake at the top of the world where, despite blasting solar radiation and little protection from atmospheric ozone, life took hold and continues to thrive today.

Licancabur, a dormant volcano rising 20,000 feet above sea level, is not your typical tourist spot. Atmospheric pressure at Licancabur's peak is less than half that at sea level and its equatorial location between Chile and Bolivia puts it directly in the line of fire for ultraviolet blasts from the sun.

In the volcano's crater sits an ice-capped lake where, against all odds, a thriving ecosystem lives. King of the colony: microorganisms that may have some sort of natural sunscreen that would put Coppertone to shame.

Scientists have no idea how life got its start in Licancabur, nor how the lake is sustained. The region gets only about an inch of rain per year and most of the time, the lake is frozen. Even when it melts, temperatures rarely reach much above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

The scene is alien and that's exactly why scientists find it so compelling.

"These conditions make Licancabur a unique analog to ancient Martian lakes," planetary geologist Nathalie Cabrol, the expedition team leader, said before the group's departure last week.

The group, which hopes to reach the volcano's summit Saturday, will follow-up a research program that began last year to assess how levels of ultraviolet radiation affect the organisms. Cabrol's team last year found the lake contained algae called diatoms that were 10 times more deformed than similar algae in other lakes.

"We want to understand if these diatoms have developed some sort of sunscreen," Cabrol said. "If not, they are probably on their way to extinction."

In addition, scientists this year plan to dive into the frigid lake to collect water and sediment samples.

Full Story