New Scientist
Image: Tak from HK
During the last decade, researchers began drilling into Antarctica’s ice-covered lakes in search of life. Now we have what may be the clearest evidence yet of biologically complex life in one of these lakes – although it’s not yet clear whether any of the animals are currently alive.
According to a report in Nature, a few weeks ago a team of US biologists discovered the preserved carcasses of tiny crustaceans and tardigrades in the mud at the bottom of Lake Mercer, which lies beneath a kilometre of ice.
The discovery raises two questions: how did the animals get there, and are there any still living in the lake today?
According to the report, animal ecologist Byron Adams at Brigham Young University in Utah has had a chance to examine the dead animals and other organic remains in the mud. He has noticed similarities to communities that once lived in the Dry Valleys, a few hundreds of kilometres from Lake Mercer, and also in the Transantarctic Mountains a few tens of kilometres from the lake. Read more on newscientist.com…
