A team of scientists in New Zealand has revealed that there is a new underwater ecosystem 500 meters below the ice in a dubious estuary, hundreds of kilometers from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.
Investigating how estuaries play a role in climate-induced glacial melting, the team discovered that they are surrounded by small creatures of the same lineage as amphipods, lobsters, crabs and mites that swim in the ice and enter the river.
“We thought there was something wrong with the camera for a while, but when the focus improved we noticed a swarm of arthropods about 5mm away,” said researcher Craig Stevens.
It was like entering a secret world.
The project’s leader, Huw Horgan of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University in Wellington, was the first to see the estuary after peeping through a chute in the ice while studying satellite images of the Ross Ice Shelf.
Horgan noted that researchers have been aware of the hidden network of freshwater lakes and rivers under the Antarctic ice sheets for some time, but have not yet investigated them directly.
“Observing and sampling this river was like being the first to enter a hidden world,” the New Zealand scientist said of the discovery.
0 Comments