- Life has been seen in these perpetual dark, cold and still habitats on camera but has rarely been collected.
- The team discovered an incredible 77 species—including sabre shaped bryozoans (moss animals) such as Melicerita obliqua and serpulid worms such as Paralaeospira sicula, more than previously known about from this entire environment.
- So, despite living 3-9 km from the nearest open water, an oasis of life may have existed continuously for nearly 6000 years under the ice shelf.
According to a recent study published in the journal Current Biology this week, there is more marine life further beneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic than previously thought as reported by Phys.org
Fragments of life
Despite occupying nearly 1.6 million km2, ice shelves are amongst the least known environments on Earth.
Life has been seen in these perpetual dark, cold and still habitats on camera but has rarely been collected.
Using hot water, a team of researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Germany, drilled two holes, through nearly 200 meters of the Ekström Ice Shelf near Neumayer Station III in the South Eastern Weddell Sea in 2018.
The environment is harsh and extremely cold (minus 2.2 degrees centigrade).
The fragments of a life on the seabed collected were extraordinary and completely unexpected.
Extreme conditions
The team discovered an incredible 77 species—including sabre shaped bryozoans (moss animals) such as Melicerita obliqua and serpulid worms such as Paralaeospira sicula, more than previously known about from this entire environment.
Lead author Dr David Barnes, a marine biologist at British Antarctic Survey, says: “This discovery of so much life living in these extreme conditions is a complete surprise and reminds us how Antarctic marine life is so unique and special.”
So the big question is “how do these animals survive and flourish here?”
Carbon dating of dead fragments of these seafloor animals varied from current to 5800 years.
So, despite living 3-9 km from the nearest open water, an oasis of life may have existed continuously for nearly 6000 years under the ice shelf.
Current theories
Current theories on what life could survive under ice shelves suggest that all life becomes less abundant as you move further away from open water and sunlight.
Past studies have found some small mobile scavengers and predators, such as fish, worms, jellyfish or krill, in these habitats.
But filter-feeding organisms—which depend on a supply of food from above—were expected to be amongst the first to disappear further under the ice.
The team also notes that with climate change and the collapse of these ice shelves, time is running out to study and protect these ecosystems.
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Source: Phys.org
