Although it is not uncommon to find marine animals flourishing Under the bottom of the Antarctic Sea, researchers have always had assumed that all life would become smaller abundant away from open water and sunlight. However, the discovery of filter-feeding organisms – 260 miles away from the open ocean, with temperatures of -2.2 ° C and under complete darkness – suggests that life in the harshest world environment maybe more adaptable and miscellaneous than previously thought.
“It’s easy run wild“Says Dr. Huw Griffiths, marine biogeographer and study leader of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). “Never in a million years would we have thought of looking for this kind of life because we didn’t think it would be there.”
In 2017, BAS geologist James Smith and his colleagues began a three-month period expedition in the middle of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica, at recover a sample from the seabed sediment. The team pierced half a mile of ice by pumping nearly 20,000 gallons of hot water – created by melting 20 tons of snow – through a pipe lowered into a hole. After about 20 hours of diligent they managed to break through the ice shelf and reach the bottom of the sea below.
However, when the scientists lowered the instrument, along with a GoPro camera, to recover a sample of soil, came out empty. After several unsuccessful attempts – each round trip lasting about an hour – the researchers took a closer look at the footage and noticed a massive boulder sitting in the middle of the relatively flat bottom. Even more surprisingly, the rock was covered with stationary animals such as sponges and potential several previously unknown species.
The finding was remarkable confused given that sessile organisms – such as sponges and coral polyps – that spend their entire lives attached sunken rocks or other hard surfaces need constant feeding. In open water, “sea snow”, as it is called, comes decomposing organic matter, which flows down from the upper waters to the deep ocean. However, the organisms attached to the boulder on the ice shelves are too far from the open sea to receive a constant amount of nutrients. To make matters worse, due to the strong ocean currents in the area, food has to travel anywhere from 370 to 930 miles to reach them.
“This is by far the farthest under an ice shelf I’ve seen any of these filter-feeding animals,” Griffiths said. “These things are stuck on a rock and only feed if something floats.”
Scientists, who published their findings in the journal Frontiers in marine science on February 15, 2021, I say that because I can not collect evidence, it is difficult to get more perspectives in organisms. “It was a real shock to find them there, a very good shock, but we can’t do DNA tests, we can’t find out what they ate or how old they are. We don’t even know if they are new species, but they certainly live in a place we wouldn’t expect them to live, “said Griffiths.
Resources: Livescience.com, newscientist.com, bass, ac.uk