How microbes survive in lakes far beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet has been a mystery. Now scientists have figured out what’s on the menu for microbes in one buried lake in West Antarctica.
The lake’s bacteria and other microbial inhabitants get by on carbon that seawater left behind thousands of years ago, researchers report in the April. The find adds to existing evidence that, during a period of warming about 6,000 years ago, the ice sheet in West Antarctica was smaller than it is today.
These less-than-ideal conditions should make them hostile to life. “If I were a microbe, I wouldn’t want to live in the cold, dark depths where I haven’t seen the sun or a new nutrient in thousands of years,” says Ryan Venturelli, a paleoglaciologist at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Yet billions of microbes —As the last glacial period came to a close, starting around 15,000 years ago, ice sheets around the world retreated.
Paleoglaciologist Ryan Venturelli holds a tube of sediment collected from the bed of Lake Mercer. Carbon in this sediment core reveals that the lake was connected to the ocean 6,000 years ago.The team collected and analyzed lake water and sediment samples from the lake bed. This work revealed traces of 6,000-year-old carbon-14, a form of the element that’s made in the atmosphere and then falls to Earth.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New capsule dives deep into your digestive system to study microorganismsUsing new technology, researchers at UC Davis are able to study microbes and metabolism in different parts of the human digestive system.
Read more »
West Pullman drive-by shooting leaves man deadA man was killed in a drive-by shooting Tuesday night in the West Pullman neighborhood.
Read more »
Man killed, another critically injured in West Side drive-by shooting: policeA 19-year-old man was killed, and an 18-year-old man was injured in a drive-by shooting on Chicago's West Side Tuesday night.
Read more »
Wagner Boss Dares the West: If I’m a Terrorist, Come and Kill MeWhen contacted by The Daily Beast about the British plan, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that he found it “extremely unpleasant” that the leaders of France and Britain had united to “conspire” against Wagner.
Read more »
Aurora police investigate shooting death of man on far west sideAurora police are investigating the shooting death of a man inside a home early Monday on the city's far west side.
Read more »
Half of US West out of drought, but not fully recoveredScientists say nearly half of the American West has emerged from drought following a winter marked by heavy snow and several massive rainstorms.
Read more »