Scientists Find Evidence For Life In Warm Steamy Caves Beneath Antarctica's Ice.pdf

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5/22/2020
Scientists Find Evidence For Life In Warm Steamy Caves Beneath Antarctica's Ice
EDITORS' PICK | Sep 11, 2017, 12:04pm EDT
Scientists Find Evidence For Life
In Warm Steamy Caves Beneath
Antarctica's Ice
Trevor Nace
Senior Contributor
Science
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This article is more than 2 years old.
Photo by Joel Bensing of an ice cave on the Erebus Glacier tongue, Ross Land, Antartica near
McMurdo... [+]
JOEL BENSING/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Deep within Antarctica's ice, there are vast warm ice caves produced from
the heat of an active volcano. Now, researchers believe these ice caves
could host life, or at least had hosted life in the past.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/09/11/scientists-find-evidence-for-life-in-warm-steamy-caves-beneath-antarcticas-ice/#5e11f0e750bb
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5/22/2020
Scientists Find Evidence For Life In Warm Steamy Caves Beneath Antarctica's Ice
Average temperatures on Ross Island hover around 1 degrees Fahrenheit
and are covered with kilometers of ice, not conditions which are amenable
to life. However, in the cave systems melted out by an active volcano, the
air temperature can reach up to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, at
some places, the ice has become thin enough to let in faint amounts of
light. Both conditions provide a promising environment to host life.
The culprit of these ice caves is Mount Erebus, an active volcano with a
long history of shallow hot magma chambers. The volcano produces
steam which travels through the open spaces and melts passageways
through the network of caves.
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The new study, published in the journal
Polar Biology
was conducted by a
research team at the Australia National University. The team collected
soil samples from the ice caves which revealed DNA from eukaryotic
groups such as algae, moss, and small invertebrate animals.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/09/11/scientists-find-evidence-for-life-in-warm-steamy-caves-beneath-antarcticas-ice/#5e11f0e750bb
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Scientists Find Evidence For Life In Warm Steamy Caves Beneath Antarctica's Ice
Photo by Michael S. Becker of researchers in an ice cave in Antartica.
IMAGES
MICHAEL S. BECKER/AFP/GETTY
These are all similar species as found elsewhere in Antarctica so it's not
unrealistic to believe they could have lived in the ice caves. However,
some of the DNA doesn't appear to match any other group of plant or
animal and may belong to something entirely undiscovered.
There was no conclusive evidence of anything currently living in the
caves, simply evidence that life once existed there. What's certain is that
scientists have just scraped the surface of understanding these ice caves.
There are vast systems of interconnected caves that no one has ever been
in let alone studied.
There are over a dozen active volcanoes in Antarctica, all of which have
varying degrees of ice caves. These ice caves can be
mapped through radar
techniques
but are mostly inaccessible to humans.
The team will begin exploring the ice caves to the best of their ability in
hopes of finding proof of living organisms.
"The next steps will be to take a closer look at the caves and search for
living organisms. If they exist, it opens the door to an exciting new world,"
said Professor Laurie Connell,
a co-researcher from the University of
Maine.
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Trevor Nace
I am a geologist passionate about sharing Earth's intricacies with you. I received my
PhD from Duke University where I studied the geology and climate of the Amazon. I
am… Read
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/09/11/scientists-find-evidence-for-life-in-warm-steamy-caves-beneath-antarcticas-ice/#5e11f0e750bb
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