11am-12pm | 303 FASB |   Modern acid saline lakes in Western Australia and the high Andes of Chile contain among the Earth’s most extreme waters with pH as low as 1.4, salinities as high as 32%, and unusually complex chemistry. These lakes and associated groundwaters form rare mineral assemblages and host novel microbial communities. Permo-Triassic redbed-hosted evaporites in the midcontinental USA and Northern Ireland are ancient analogs for these extreme environments. Acid lake halite and gypsum contain fluid inclusions that preserved trapped acid waters, atmosphere, and microorganisms. Fluid inclusions in Mars-analog halite and gypsum provide clues to the search for life on Mars.