Deep beneath the ice, a bizarre community of beings flourishes.
Hidden Oasis
Deep within a mile of Antarctic ice and sea, hundreds of miles away from the nearest glimpse of sunlight, a bizarre community of creatures thrives – to the confusion of scientists.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey tunneled through the ice to wipe up seabed sediment. But by a fantastic or terrible luck, they happened to be carrying their tunnel across a boulder on the seabed. This made it impossible to collect sediment, but the camera of the hanging instrument discovered an entire ecosystem of still unexplained life that Wired characterized as ‘foreign beings’.
Hunger pains
The team’s study, published in the journal on Monday Boundaries in marine science, represents an incredible discovery – and drive home just how little we still understand about the planet we live on, not to mention the extraordinary toughness of life.
During the expedition, the scientists were able to see a film of bacteria, peculiar sponges and various poop organisms that clung to the rock. However, all the insects have to eat, and that is when the already surprising discovery becomes completely confusing.
There was no apparent source of food – which is not a surprise as the inhospitability of the area is very good. According to scientists, they still do not know how the inhabitants of the rock survive Wired, but their best guess is that underwater currents flush small pieces of detritus and other organic matter from other ecosystems – which are between 390 and 930 miles away.
Rolling clip
This is still speculative, as most guesses will be about the small seabed community until a follow-up expedition takes place. Once that happens, scientists will try to unravel what these creatures are, what they eat and also how they got there.
“Do they all eat the same food source?” British Antarctic Survey researcher Huw Griffiths tells Wired. ‘Or do some of them get some kind of nutrients? Or are there more mobile animals that somehow provide food for this community? ”
READ MORE: Scientists accidentally discover strange creatures under half an ice mile [Wired]
More about marine ecosystems: This plan to exploit the ocean floor could wipe out entire ecosystems