Scientists have found life below 3,000 feet of ice in Antarctica. The previous theory was that life could not exist in such extreme conditions: freezing temperatures, no food and darkness.
The creatures are attached to a boulder in the icy sea beneath the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf – a large ice sheet that stretches from Antarctica, according to a report by Business Insider.
Experts from the British Antarctic Survey drilled holes through 2,860 feet of ice, lowered cameras through the ice and then through another 1,549 feet of water before making the discovery.
Their intention was to take samples from the seabed. But the camera hit something big, and when they reviewed the footage, they saw the boulder and the unusual discovery.
“The area under these giant floating ice shelves is probably one of the least known habitats on earth,” marine biologist Huw Griffiths, one of the scientists who made the discovery, said in a Twitter video.
Exploration under the ice shelf is not done very often. Griffiths added: ‘We really do not know that much. And the total area people have seen under the ice racks is about the size of a tennis court. ”
The video reveals two types of unknown animals. The animals hanging in the red outlined on the video look like they are hanging on long stalks, while the others (marked in white) look like a round, spongy animal.
From time to time, scientists studied the area beneath the ice sheets and found mobile animals, including worms, krill and jellyfish. But there was no thought of finding life that was deeper and farther from any light.
The following for the scientists is to find answers to many questions, Griffith said in a press release:
“How did they get there? How long have they been there? What do they eat? Are they from a previously unknown species? To answer our questions, we need to find a way to get up close to these animals and their environment. ”
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