Strange creatures discovered in Antarctica under 9 years …

British scientists have discovered stationary animals, similar to sponges, attached to a rock that was under 900 meters of Antarctic ice. This is the first record of a hard-substrate community at the bottom of an ice shelf, the researchers explained, and it seems to run counter to all previous theories about what types of life could survive it.

During an exploratory study, geologists and other specialists drilled 900 meters of ice in the Filchner-Ronne platform, located southeast of the Weddell Sea, at a distance of 260 kilometers from the open sea, in complete darkness and with temperatures of -2.2 ° C.

“Our discovery raises many more questions than it answers, for example, how did they get there? What are they eating? How long have they been there? Said Huw Griffiths, British Antarctic Survey biogeographer and lead author of the study.

“How common are these covered rocks in life? Are these the same species we see on the ice floes or are they new species? And what would happen to these communities if the sea ice collapsed? », Continued the specialist.

Unexplored area

Floating ice shelves represent the largest unexplored habitat in the Southern Ocean, experts say – they cover more than 1.5 million square kilometers of the Antarctic continental shelf. However, so far it has only been studied through eight anterior perforations a total area similar in size to a tennis court.

Current theories about what life might survive under the ice shelves suggest that all existence becomes less abundant as it moves away from the open sea and sunlight. Previous studies have found a few small, mobile predators and scavengers, such as fish, worms, jellyfish or krill, in these habitats. But filter-feeders, which depend on food supplies from above, should be among the first to disappear further under the ice.

So it’s a surprise when the team of geologists, while drilling in the ice to collect sediment samples, hit a rock instead of mud on the ocean floor. The surprise was even greater when they saw the footage they recorded during the exploration, as you could see that the rock was covered with strange creatures.

A challenge

Given the region’s water currents, researchers estimate that this community may be up to 1500 kilometers from the nearest photosynthetic source. Other organisms are also known to harvest nutrients from melting glaciers or chemicals from methane seeps.

However, in order to learn more about these organisms, some tools will be needed to collect samples, which is a challenge for researchers. “To answer our questions, we’ll need to find a way to get closer to these animals and their environment., and it’s under 900 meters of ice, 260 kilometers from the ships where our laboratories are located, ”Griffiths warned.

“This means that as polar scientists we will have to find new and innovative ways to study them and answer any new questions we ask ourselves,” he added. The big problem, says the specialist, is that with the climate crisis and the collapse of the ice shelves time is running out to study and protect these types of ecosystems.