Natural Science Forum / Physics / General Physics / July 2008

ROFL!  Socks, my guess is that you hit the nail right on the head!

My second guess is that the OP has never encountered grulated soil in
his life or education, much of which exists and is due to at least
hundreds or thousands of differing causes.

My third guess in that the granulation is the result of mineral
saturated surface water leaching into the subsoil, which is the most
likely explanation. Another is that some primitive form of primitive
microscopic life once existed. If so, the detection of amino acids
would suggest that their least some form of organic material has been
found.  I believe the current research may be looking for indicators
like this, but I am not privy to the experimental objectives.

Then too, the detection of amino acid remants that may have exsisted
hundreds of millions of years ago seems to me highly unlikely.

Harry C.