Researchers in Antarctica uncover a thriving ecosystem of microbial life in an underground lake 2,600 feet below the surface, hinting at how life might have evolved on Earth
- Scientists traveled to Antarctica to study enormous underground lakes
- The team collected samples from a lake more than 2,600 feet below the surface
- Though there was no light and enormous pressure from the ice above, the lake contained a variety of microbial life, fed by abundant stores of organic carbon
Researchers in Antarctica collected samples from an underground lake more than 2,600 feet below the surface in the hopes of learning more about the conditions necessary to support microscopic life.
Trista Vick-Majors, an assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Michigan Technological University, led the group , which traveled to the Whillans Subglacial Lake ecosystem in western Antarctica.
Lakes of liquid water can periodically form far below the surface of glaciers in the region, feeding an ecosystem of microbial life with plentiful organic carbon that’s available in the ice.
A team of scientists in Antarctica researched the composition of water pulled up from subglacial lakes more than 2,600 feet below the surface
‘There is water and there is life under the ice,’ Vick-Majors told Phys.org.
‘These can teach us a lot about our planet because this is a great place to look at somewhat simplified ecosystems, without higher levels of organisms.’
‘So we can answer questions about life that can be really hard to answer in other places.’
To reach the subglacial lakes, the team used a hot water drill, powered by an aviation-fueled heater to bring water up to 194 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heated water was then sent into the ice in a thing column that gradually melted the ice and, after around 24 hours of continuous drilling, eventually reached the lake.
To prevent contaminating the subglacial lake water, the drill water was first run through several banks of ultraviolet light to kill microbes.
The hole was kept open for a few days before it was frozen over again.
The lake waters was filled with around 5,400 percent more organic carbon than would be required to feed all of the microbial life present in them.
The abundant food source might likely compensate for the lack of sunlight and high pressures brought from the ice above.
The team found the underground waters contained 5,400 percent more organic carbon than was needed to support all of the microbial life in the waters
The team collected the water samples using a hot water drill, which shoots a stream of water heated to 194 degrees Farenheit into the ice, a process which took around 24 hours to reach the lake
‘There’s no photosynthesis under the ice in the ocean downstream of this lake—this limits the available food and energy sources in a way that you wouldn’t find in a surface lake or the open ocean,’ Vick-Majors said.
‘The idea is that these subglacial lakes that are upstream could provide important sources of energy and nutrients for things living in the ice-covered regions of the Southern Ocean.’
The team previously found tardirgrades in the subglacial waters, microscopic organisms sometimes called ‘water bears’ that are believed to be among the most durable life forms in the world, capable of surviving extreme radiation and temperature.
‘Life is tough,’ Vick-Majors said, ‘it can handle a lot.’
