Although it is not uncommon to find sea creatures blooming under the seabed of Antarctica, researchers always had assumed that all life would diminish plentiful further away from open water and sunlight. The discovery of filter-feeding organisms – 160 miles (260 km) from the open ocean, with temperatures of -2.2 ° C and under complete darkness – suggests that life in the world’s harshest environment maybe more adaptable and different than previously thought.
‘It is a bit crazySays marine biogeographer and study leader of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Dr. Huw Griffiths. “Never in a million years would we have thought about seeking out this kind of life because we didn’t think it would be there.”
In 2017, BAS geologist James Smith and colleagues began a three-month period expedition to the center of Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, to to pick up a sample of the seabed sedimentThe team drilled through the half mile of ice by pumping nearly 20,000 gallons of hot water – created by melting 20 tons of snow – through a pipe that had been lowered into a borehole. After about 20 hours meticulously work, they were finally able to penetrate the ice shelf and reach the seabed below.
However, when the scientists took the instrument down, along with a GoPro camera to pick up a soil sample, it came up empty. After several failed attempts – with each tour taking about an hour – the researchers took a closer look at the images and noticed a huge boulder sitting amid the relatively flat seabed. Even more surprising was that the rock was covered with stationary animals, such as sponges and possible several previously unknown species.
The finding was special confusing considering that sitting organisms – such as sponges and coral polyps – that are attached to them their entire lives submerged rocks or other hard surfaces need a constant food supply. The “sea snow”, as it is called, comes from the open water cancelled organic matter, which drifts from the surface to the deep ocean. However, the organisms attached to the boulder of the ice shelf are too far from the open sea to get a steady supply of them nutrientsTo make matters worse, due to the area’s strong ocean currents, the food has to travel between 370 and 930 miles to reach them.
“This is by far the farthest below an ice shelf that we’ve seen any of these filter-feeding animals,” Griffiths said. “These things are stuck on a rock and only fed when something floats by.”
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science on February 15, 2021 say that since they can’t collect samples, it’s hard to get more insights in the organisms. “It was a real shock to find them there, a really good shock, but we can’t do DNA tests, we can’t find out what they ate or how old they are. We don’t even know if they are new species, but they certainly live where we wouldn’t expect them to live, ”said Griffiths.
Sources: Livescience.com, newscientist.com, bas, ac.uk