A group of polar researchers have discovered life in a lake beneath a sheet of ice in Antarctica that hasn't seen sunlight in millions of years.
After drilling a one-half mile hole into the ice, they didn't just find microorganisms called Archaea, but also an entire active ecosystem consisting of ammonium and methane that the microbes use for converting into energy for growth.
Montana State University professor John Priscu was the chief scientist on the project. That project's goal was to get samples from underneath West Antarctica's ice sheet, particularly from subglacial Lake Whillans, which is about 60 miles inland. It is one of a series of lakes that sits under the ice in the area.
Although this discovery surprised many scientists, it did not shock Priscu. He'd been studying the area and predicted microbial life in subglacial lakes over 20 years ago. His latest expedition serves as proof that he'd been right all along.
"We were able to prove unequivocally to the world that Antarctica is not a dead continent," says Priscu.
Not only did his team discover the Archaea, but they also learned about how they live without sunlight at such cold temperatures. Ancient decomposing organic matter created the ammonium and methane that the microorganisms use for energy.
But the organisms are doing even more than that and are also vital components of their ecosystem. Some microbes were sucking up nutrients from rocks, while their waste materials fed others.
"Those guys are doing the heavy lifting for the ecosystem," says Trista Vick-Majors, a member of the research team.
Sometimes, when these discoveries happen, it's caused by contamination of tools and instruments, which will introduce microbes into an environment where none previously existed. However, Priscu's team accounted for that by extensively testing a decontamination system that was part of the hot water drill they used to reach Lake Whillans. The team is positive that these microbes came from the subglacial lake and not from the drill.
The implications of this discovery doesn't just stop here on Earth, though. Jupiter moon Europa and Saturn moon Enceladus support very similar environments to Antarctica. Both have surfaces covered in ice with oceans of water beneath their surfaces. If microbial life exists under Antarctic ice without sunlight, it raises the possibility of similar life existing on both moons.
This also raises the probability that there is microbial life on Mars as that planet also contains sheets of ice that could have liquid water beneath them.
