A frozen desert with extreme cold temperatures is probably the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning Antarctica. Of course there is Antarctic life, but most of it is on the surface of the ice. Now, scientists are discovering new life beneath the ice sheet.
According to a new study, scientists have discovered more marine life beneath the Antarctic ice sheet than previously thought. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
Using hot water, scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Researcher in Germany drilled two holes.
The holes, roughly 200 meters deep in the Antarctic ice sheet. There, they found fragments of life on the seafloor that included more than 77 species.
Quoted from BGR, Saturday (12/25/2021) several species have been found in Antarctica. However, there are fragments of several new species that were previously unknown to them in the area.
"The discovery of so much life living in these extreme conditions is a complete surprise and reminds us of how unique and special Antarctic marine life is," said David Barnes, lead author of the study.
"It's amazing that we find evidence of so many different types of animals, mostly eating microalgae (phytoplankton) but no plants or algae that can live in this environment," he continued.
Barnes said the next big question they had to ask was, how did these life forms develop in the Antarctic environment?
Findings from carbon dating
The discovery of life under Antarctica is surprising. Researchers say the most surprising thing is how long life has existed.
"The carbon dating of dead fragments of these seafloor animals varies from the present to 5,800 years," said Dr Gerard Kuhn, co-author of the study.
"Despite living 3-9 km from the nearest open water, this oasis of life may have existed continuously for nearly 6,000 years under the ice sheet," he said.
The researchers also note that current theory says life becomes less abundant as we move further away from open water. Of course, some fish, worms, and other small scavengers can live in this environment. However, filter-eating organisms like those discovered by scientists usually disappear first, especially as we move further away from the water and the Sun. However, that does not appear to be the case under Antarctica.
Unfortunately, scientists say the rapid pace of climate change our world is experiencing today means we have very little time to study these life forms before their environment ceases to exist.