Scientists report the invention of a thriving ecosystem of dwelling organisms in certainly one of Earth’s most excessive environments: beneath 14 meters of ice overlaying Antarctica’s frozen Lake Enigma.
A completely frozen physique of water within the Northern Foothills of Antarctica’s Victoria Land, the lake is likely one of the least possible areas on Earth that scientists would have anticipated to be residence to life. Previously considered totally frozen from high to backside, now a world group of scientists have found an infinite physique of unfrozen water hidden a number of meters under the lake’s icy exterior, wherein a once-secret microbial ecosystem resides.
The discovery, a part of the ENIGMA venture funded by the National Antarctic Research Program, upends previous findings about Lake Enigma, and affords distinctive insights into certainly one of Earth’s most inhospitable environments.
The findings might additionally present clues to researchers concerning the potential for microbial life’s existence inside comparable habitats elsewhere in our photo voltaic system, together with icy moons like Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa.
A Hidden Treasure Beneath Antarctic Ice
The multinational scientific group, which options members from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and a number of other different establishments, performed their investigations of the frozen Antarctic lake utilizing Italy’s close by Mario Zucchelli Antarctic analysis base.
First found in 1989, Lake Enigma was initially considered totally frozen. However, in November 2019 and January 2020, researchers performed radar surveys that confirmed an abundance of stratified oligotrophic liquid water exists beneath near 14 meters of floor ice overlaying the lake.
The discovery prompted researchers to drill into the frozen exterior of the lake and deploy underwater cameras, permitting them to seize extremely detailed visuals of the lake’s hidden ecosystem.
Microbial Diversity Under Lake Enigma
“A outstanding function of the Lake Enigma microbial ecosystem is the presence, and generally even dominance, of ultrasmall micro organism belonging to the superphylum Patescibacteria,” the researchers write of their discoveries in a current paper that appeared within the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment.
In the previous, these explicit micro organism had remained absent from previous surveys of areas that embody Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys.
“Cyanobacteria are nearly absent from Lake Enigma ice and water column though they’re effectively represented in its intensive and numerous benthic microbial mats,” the group wrote.
Unlike something documented in previous comparable discoveries involving Antarctica’s lakes, these microbial mats characterize colonies of microorganisms comprised of layered movies, the most important of which had been an estimated 40 centimeters excessive and 60 centimeters vast.
The presence of Patescibacteria was revealed by way of DNA evaluation of water samples retrieved from the lake. Given that these micro organism have by no means been found beforehand in such environments, at the moment researchers are unsure whether or not their presence represents a symbiotic or predatory position within the distinctive ecosystem wherein they inhabit.
“Collectively, these options reveal a brand new complexity in Antarctic lake meals webs and reveal that along with phototrophic and easy chemotrophic metabolisms, each symbiotic and predatory existence might exist,” the group writes.
Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Implications
Ultimately, the brand new findings might have profound implications within the examine of not solely extremeophiles right here on Earth, but in addition the sorts of environments that might be able to host life past Earth.
Scientists have lengthy hypothesized that comparable subsurface oceans on Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus might host microbial life, and the group’s current findings at Lake Enigma lend additional weight to that chance.
“The findings present an interesting glimpse into how life persists in among the harshest situations on Earth,” stated Stefano Urbini, the venture coordinator from INGV.
“They additionally function a mannequin for understanding potential extraterrestrial ecosystems in our photo voltaic system,” he added.
The group’s paper, “The perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica helps distinctive microbial communities,” was printed in Nature Communications Earth & Environment.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He may be reached by e mail at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.
