A few calendar week ago , researchers exercise a deep borehole through the Antarctic ice plane and reached Lake Mercer , a subglacial torso of weewee . There , they discoverednot only a surprising amount of bacteria , but also the remains of several midget animal . you’re able to now live part of that find thanks to a dot - of - view telecasting going through the borehole and into the lake .
The carcasses of these critters were so unexpected that the squad worried they had somehow foul their sample distribution . After cautiously cleaning their instruments , they pull together more samples . Once again , they notice the remains of tiny crustaceans and tardigrades . Ancient alga and what is believed to be fungi were also discovered .
While the findings are exciting , there is a caboodle we still do n’t know . However , the geographic expedition team is on it . They have large plans for the sample distribution collect , including trying to found the age of the remains using carbon 14 date and sequencing as much of their deoxyribonucleic acid as possible . This could allow all-important information about where these small organism came from . Did they subsist in seawater , freshwater , or on land ? There is also hope that by learn their chemical substance composition , the team can work out if they managed to survive deep beneath the ice or were dead by the metre they find into the lake .
It is deemed highly unlikely that these organisms hold out in the lake ’s extreme conditions , but that ’s not of necessity the case with the bacterium . Researchers have found 10,000 bacterial cells per millimeter of piss in the sample distribution . The number is flyspeck ( 1 percentage ) compared to ocean body of water , but it is exceedingly significant take the life - defend conditions these germ have to endure .
This is the 2nd subglacial lake explored in Antarctica . It is believe to be one of many , possibly C , present underneath the duncish meth sheet . It ’s possible the determination here are more the rule than the exclusion . On January 5 , the polar scientist sealed the1,000 - meter - deep(3,280 - pes ) borehole to Lake Mercer , separating once again the sub - icy lake from the respite of the world .
[ H / T : Nature News ]
