The Antarctica , mostly, it is cold and desolate, however, scientists have managed to find a lot of life under the most inhospitable continent on Earth .
A team of scientists has just found and extracted a “cradle” filled with nearly 100 species beneath the coldest continent on Earth : Antarctica .
These extremophiles found about 200 meters below the ice paltaforma SE Ekström to the Weddell Sea, in a harsh and extremely cold, there is water at a temperature of -2 ° C .
These bits of life are completely unexpected. Despite being several kilometers from the open sea, the biodiversity of the specimens they collected is extremely rich.
Extremophiles
“This discovery of so much life living in these extreme conditions comes as a complete surprise and reminds us how unique and special Antarctic marine life is,” says lead study author Dr David Barnes, a marine biologist with the British Antarctic Survey. “The big question is how do these animals survive and thrive here?”
The group of researchers concludes that there must be enough algae transported under the ice shelf from open water to feed a strong food chain.
Another interesting piece of information about this discovery is how long life has existed in this part of Antarctica. “Carbon dating of the dead fragments of these seafloor animals ranged from today to 5,800 years,” says Dr. Gerhard Kuhn, study co-author and project coordinator.