Although it is not uncommon to find marine animals prosperous under the seabed of Antarctica, researchers had always done so assumed that all life would be less abundant further away from open water and sunlight. However, the discovery of filter organisms – 260 miles (260 km) from the open ocean, with temperatures of -2.2 ° C and in the dark – suggests that life in the harshest countries in the world environment maybe more adaptable i diverse of what was thought.
“It simply came to our notice then bonker“Says Dr. Huw Griffiths, biogeographer and study leader of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).” Never in a million years would we have thought of looking for this kind of life because we didn’t think it would be there. “
In 2017, BAS geologist James Smith and colleagues undertook a three-month period expedition in the center of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica, a recover a sample of the seabed sediment. The team drilled half a mile of ice by pumping nearly 20,000 gallons of hot water, created by melting 20 tons of snow, through a pipe lowered through a hole. After about 20 hours of meticulous work, they were finally able to cross the ice shelf and reach the seabed below.
However, when scientists lowered the instrument, along with a GoPro camera, to recover a sample of earth, came out empty. After several failed attempts (each round trip lasts about an hour), the researchers looked closely at the images and noticed a massive rocky sitting in the middle of the relatively flat seabed. Even more amazing, the rock was covered with stationary animals, such as sponges and potentially several previously unknown species.
The finding was particularly confusing given that sessile organisms – such as coral sponges and polyps – that spend their entire lives attached to them submerged rocks or other hard surfaces need a constant supply of food. In open water, comes the “sea snow,” as it is called in decomposition organic matter, which derives from the waters above the deep ocean. However, the organisms attached to the rock of the ice shelf are too far from the open sea to receive a constant supply of nutrients. To make matters worse, due to the strong ocean currents in the area, the food has to travel between 370 and 930 miles to get there.
“This is by far the furthest under an ice shelf we’ve seen any of these animals feed on filters,” Griffiths said. “These things are stuck to a rock and only feed if something is floating.”
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Frontiers in marine sciences on February 15, 2021, they say that because they cannot collect samples, it is difficult to get more ideas to organisms. “It was a real shock to find them there, a very good shock, but we can’t do DNA tests, we can’t find out what they eat or how old they are. We don’t even know if they are new species, but they definitely live in one place. where we wouldn’t expect them to live, ”Griffiths said.
Resources: Livescience.com, newscientist.com, bass, ac.uk