Researchers recently shared a never-before-seen ecosystem that lurks underground on the thick icy surface of Antarctica. Discovering the "hidden world" revealed a dark, jagged cavern filled with swarms of tiny, shrimplike creatures, surprising the scientists and making them jump for joy.
Science Times previously reported about the same team finding some mysterious life forms beneath Antarctica and dubbed them the first stationary creatures ever found thriving in the dark and hostile environment. This time, they discovered some creatures swimming in one of the coldest places on the planet.
Secret Ecosystem Found 1,600 Feet Below Antarctica's Icy Surface
Antarctica is one of the seven continents in the world and is even bigger than Europe. Covered in ice with an average thickness of nearly 2 kilometers, the US National Science Foundation said that the continent holds 90% of the world's ice and 70% of fresh water.
The continent is also remarkable for its ice shelves, giant sheets, that float around the surrounding sea. Now, scientists have discovered for the first time some swimming creatures underneath the icy surface of the Larsen Ice Shelf. Satellite images showed an unusual groove in the ice shelf near the part where it meets the land.
The team described the peculiar feature as a subsurface river in a statement. They drilled down around 1,640 feet (500 meters) below the icy surface of the shelf using a hot-water hose and found swarms of tiny crustaceans known as amphipods.
At first, the camera's footage was blurry and the team thought the equipment was faulty. But they soon realized that there were tiny creatures swimming. It caught them off guard as they had not expected to find life forms far below the icy surface.
Physical oceanographer Craigg Stevens from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Auckland, New Zealand, said that seeing those animals swimming around the camera means an important ecosystem exists underneath.
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Rivers, Estuaries Underneath Antarctica
Experts have long believed there could be rivers and estuaries underneath Antarctica, but these features are not yet well-studied. More so, they do not know if they harbored life which makes studying them more interesting.
Lead researcher Huw Horgan, a glaciologist at Te Herenga Waka in New Zealand, said in an interview that getting to observe and sample this river is like first getting acquainted with a new world.
According to Live Science, Horgan and his team were looking at satellite photos of the area when they saw a visible long depression or groove stretching across the ice that sometimes eluded surface detection. Nonetheless, they were successful at finding it after choosing the right spot.
Camera footage shows that the cavern looked drastically different from what was predicted with its uneven roof due to sharp undulations. It looked like a loaf of bread with a bulge at the top.
They also found that the water column underground split into four or five distinct layers of water flowing in different directions, changing the current understanding of these environments.
After discovering a new subsurface ecosystem in Antarctica, they plan to continue to study it in hopes of learning more about how the nutrients in the water are cycled throughout the continent's underground water networks to support life underneath it.
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