Antarctic sponges discovered under the ice shelf are scientists

Antarctic sponges discovered under the ice shelf are scientists

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Researchers drilled through 900 meters of ice in the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf, located on the southeastern Weddell Sea, when they came across unexpected creatures that were ‘firmly attached to a rock’ and lived below zero in the darkness and temperature .

A collection of stationary animals – sponges and possibly several previously unknown species – were among the discoveries.

Animals like these are not expected to live in these extreme places because they are so far from sunlight and any obvious food source.

It was’ a real surprise to see these animals there ”, said marine biologist Huw Griffiths, lead author of a new study that the discovery. “It’s about 160 miles further under the ice shelf than we’ve ever seen a sponge.”

The accidental discovery was made by a team of geologists who drilled through the ice to collect mud samples but came across the rock that houses these strange creatures.

The area under giant floating ice shelves is one of the least known habitats on earth.

To get a glimpse of what is happening under an ice mass, boreholes are drilled through it and cameras are lowered. According to Griffiths, who has been working with the British Antarctic Survey for more than 20 years, the total area people have seen under the ice shelf is about the size of a tennis court.

Griffiths said the sponges were found at this remote location, which made this discovery particularly confusing.

Researchers are drilling down boreholes and lowering cameras to see what is happening under the ice mass.

If there are a lot of sunlight and an abundance of food, such as these animals with filter food will usually dominate, Griffiths said. In deep seas with a limited food supply, you will find more crabs and mobile animals looking for food, he added.

“Somehow, some really specialized members of the filter feeding community can survive,” he said. ‘They can be brand new species or it could just be an incredibly hardy version of what normally lives in Antarctica – we just do not know. I guess it’s possibly a new species. ‘

Griffiths explained: “If they live as hard as this, they are probably specially adapted to be there. There’s a good chance they could go weeks, months and years without food – you have to be pretty tough to deal with it. to offer. ”

Shown are the stationary animals living in the surface of the boulder, discovered by scientists.

It could be an opportunity to learn about these ‘hardy’ organisms and how they survive in extreme conditions – whether for medical, engineering or other scientific purposes, he said.

Smarter technology and ideas are needed to get closer to these animals, he said, and more research is needed to really get a better and bigger picture of what’s going on under the ice.

“It’s the idea that there is a whole world we know nothing about. The idea that there are many more of these rocks … There would be a huge habitat we did not know,” Griffiths said .

“There are so many questions. There is life on earth that does not comply with the rules that biologists understand.”

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