Figure 2.

(Left) Underwater view of stromatolites in Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia (credit: Marisol Juarez Rivera). (Center) Eroded section through a recently exposed Shark Bay stromatolite, showing the domical shape and crude laminations of these large, lithified structures (width of central stromatolites is ~20 cm). (Right) Oblique view down onto silt and sand-covered, living microbial mat from Shark Bay. The ragged textured edge in the photo is an eroded section cut through the microbial mat, which exhibits rubbery cohesion as it is composed of a community of microorganisms. These contemporary versions of the Earth’s most ancient microbial ecosystem were later compared to Archaean stromatolite fossils. Center and right photos by author.