Is There Life in Antarctica's Volcanic Ice Caves?

on How Stuff Works. Spoke via email with Carodwin Fraser from Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment in Society, who's done research in the area. She said the caves are covered with ice and there's ice all around, but some are as warm as a summer's day, over twenty degrees celsius or sixty eight fahrenheit. In most it's pretty dark as not much light gets through the thick ice, but in others where ice covers thin light can filter through.

In these caves, Fraser's research team collected soil samples that have yielded the DNA of dozens of plant and animal species. Most of the DNA collected from the caves match with species of say, moss, algae, and nemotodes already detected at other sites on the continent, but the team also identified genetics of life that may be unique to the unusual

environment of these volcanic ice caves. Fraser said there were some sequences that didn't make a close match to DNA and online databases, which makes me wonder if there might be species that are specially adapted to the caves and found nowhere else. It opens up the doors to some

exciting discoveries about biodiversity in Antarctica. While the DNA captured from the volcanic areas did not conclusively prove that the sites host living forms of these plants and animals, the samples none the wls leus offer a tantalizing glimpse into what forms of life could live there. The researcher's next step will be to find direct evidence, namely the life itself in samples. Getting samples from the Antarctic volcanic sites

is no easy task. Once the researchers reached the continent, they were flown by helicopter part way up Mount arabis. They stayed in tents at least two nights to acclimate to the higher elevations, and from there they either hiked or snowmobiled to the ice cave hollows. At one point, the researchers were forced to ride out a blizzard and spent four long days stuck in their tents as wind and snow howled outside. Conditions were too harsh to leave

the tents to even access their food stash. Hostiff Works also spoke with Lori Connell, a researcher in molecular and biomedical sciences at the University of Maine and a co author of the study that led the team to the geothermal sites. She said, it was over things Giving, so we decided to save our remaining dry soup mix and crackers for Thanksgiving Day. When we woke up on Thanksgiving for our feast and made our soup, we realized our hot water was no longer hot, just tepid. It was

pretty pathetic. Once the researchers managed to reach the field station at the volcano, where temperatures away from the geothermal sites reached minus thirty degrees fahrenheit, which is minus thirty four celsius The team fanned out to various sites and used ropes and harnesses to access a range of geothermal features. Those included areas of soil that were heated from the

volcanic activity but still exposed. There were also ice hummocks, which are domes of unstable ice covering a heat spewing volcanic vent, and then ice towers and caves that presented intricate labyrinths of icy underworlds. Among the identified DNA were covered at the volcanic sites, the closest match the scientists could are arthropods. This category of animals features external shells and jointed limbs and includes over a million known species,

ranging from lobsters to centipedes to microscopic copapods. Arthropods have been found elsewhere on Antarctica, including on patches of exposed ground that make up the mere zero point three percent or less of the continent that's not covered with ice. In these regions, life has to contend with not only

extreme cold, but also extreme dryness. Even though much of the continent is coated in ice that's up to three miles or five kilometers, thickened parts and Arctica's inner regions receive an average of only two inches that's five centimeters of precipitation, primarily snow every year. Parts of the continent do thaw for weeks or months at a time during the summer, but in other areas that water is locked

in its frozen form year round. But despite the harsh conditions that away from its coast, Antarctica hosts vast biomes under the ice that scientists are now exploring. Fraser said, we think of Antarctica as a wasteland, but even in that extreme environment, life thrives in amazing places on rocks, on top of mountains, in the lower layers of sea ice, in dry deserts. Why not also in these warm, hospitable caves hollowed out by steam between the ice and the rock.

In East Antarctica, Lake Vostok is buried under two and a half miles of ice that's about four kilometers and hasn't been near open air for some fifteen million years. Samples taken from the lake in an unrelated study yielded genetic sequences for three thousand, five hundred and seven recognizable species, as well as about ten thousand species not yet known

to science. The scientists have also found hardy forms of bacteria within networks of salty liquid water discovered at Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Alleys, which features striking, blood red falls of iron rich glacial melt that never find their way to the sea. However, as scientists must be mindful of whether the DNA they find at these extreme Antarctic sites represents life that truly exists there or organisms that were transported

in and persisted only temporarily. Tiny tough microbes and spores could come in on the wind, or via accidental contamination from researchers clothing and other gear. Evidence of this type of contamination has been found. Fraser's team collected fragments of ash trees that likely come from Robert Falcon Scott's exploration of Mount Arabis from nineteen twelve. Still, the DNA discoveries at Mount Arabis may only represent a fraction of diverse

life housed within its volcanic ice caves. Antarctica is home to more than one hundred volcanoes, each of which may host its own network of ice caves and tunnels. We don't know how many caves exist and how connected they are to each other, because, again, Antarctica is difficult to get to and explore, but there are even more challenging

places out there. Many scientists believe that understanding the life and subsurface environs and the harsh climate of Antarctica could lend clues to possible life on places and even more extreme locations like Mars or Europa. Fraser said, this research and other research indicates that volcanic activity can foster life in extreme conditions, and yes, there is the potential that around volcanoes on other planets and moons we might find

life even when exposed atmospheric conditions are harsh. NASA does take great effort to ensure that robots sent to other bodies in our Solar System aren't contaminated with traces of life from Earth. Such traces could throw off results from any sampling performed. Of course, a distinguishing native DNA from contaminating DNA and samples from Antarctica is easier since the

location in question is already here on Earth. Connell explained that researchers are able to take direct samples and can then perform culture tests to determine whether life is still active at the geothermal locations, but she and her colleagues have been performing these kinds of tests, and the planned to publish results soon. Today's episode is based on the article Intricate ice caves in Antarctica may harbor unique life

on how Stuffworks dot Com. Written by Amanda Onion. The brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows