During a series of boreholes, New Zealand scientists discovered an impressive ecosystem several hundred meters below the surface of Antarctica’s main ice shelf.
A new ecosystem
Composed of researchers from wellington universities, Auckland, otago and of theNational Institute of Water and Atmosphere (Niwa)the team initially wanted to study the role of a subglacial river in the melting of the gigantic Ross barriercovering 487,000 square kilometres, approximately the area of the France.
After drilling through nearly 500 meters of ice using a hot water pipe, researchers reached an impressive cavity filled with meltwater measuring around 10 kilometers long, just over 300 meters wide. and 240 meters deep. However, the real surprise came when they lowered a camera down the borehole. His lens was quickly invaded by a veritable ballet of amphipods, tiny creatures belonging to the same lineage as lobsters, crabs and mites.
” Initially we thought the hardware used was faulty, but after focusing we noticed a swarm of arthropods about 5 millimeters in size “, details Craig Stevens, who oversaw the operations. ” The presence of these animals means that an important ecosystem process is taking place there, which we will do more research on by analyzing water samples to identify in particular the nutrients. »
“Being able to observe and sample this river was like accessing a hidden world”
The existence of freshwater lakes and rivers within the ice ofAntarctic has been known for some time, but until now these have never been studied directly. ” Being able to observe and sample one of them was akin to accessing a hidden world “says the glaciologist Huw Horgan.
It turns out that these field works were carried out at the time of the monstrous eruption of the volcano Hunga Tonga. Although the latter is located thousands of kilometers away, the researchers explained that they detected a sudden pressure change when the tsunami passed through the cavity, showing how connected our whole planet is and reminding us of the impact of melting ice. of the’Antarcticamplified by global warming, on the global level of the oceans.
While the presence of life in such a dark and isolated environment may seem surprising, last year British researchers discovered unusual life forms under the ice shelf. Filchner-Ronne, on the other side of the Antarctic continent. Almost inert, these included 16 sponges as well as 22 unidentified individuals, probably including barnacles.
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