Sample of bacteria from Lake Whillans , photo:
Samples of Antarctic lakes teem with life
For the first time in history are rich bacterial life in a sample of water taken from the ice lake.
– Our discovery shows that water is always a space where life can develop, even if it is at temperatures below zero, and does not reach the light – says John Priscu of Montana State University, one of the heads of the expedition, which dowierciła to just 800 m from the lake Whillans ice in Antarctica and collected the samples.
The discovery gives hope astrobiologom who dream about life on other bodies of the solar system, for example, in subglacial oceans Europe, one of the moons of Jupiter, or in the polar caps on Mars.
Antarctica is about 400 lakes locked beneath the ice. The team Priscu dowierciła to one of them in January 2013. They used hot water, which helped them to melt the ice and dowiercić to trapped under the ice water. This water is in a liquid state despite the cold weather because of its great pressure under the ice.
Recall – like search lead Russians, who have been trying dowiercić and download the uncontaminated samples from Lake Vostok. They managed to break through to the Vostok in 2012, but the samples were contaminated with oil, which helped in drilling.
The Americans claim that bacteria from the samples did not come from pollution, but actually live in Whillans. The proof is to be their uniqueness. – They are similar to the bacteria that live in the oceans – says Priscu.
Found approx. 4,000 species of bacteria. Most of these ammonium ions are digested by changing them in nitrogen compounds. Others feed on methane.
– Our discovery shows that water is the space in which it can always evolve life, even if it is in sub-zero temperatures and does not reach the light – says John Priscu of Montana State University, one of the leaders of the expedition, which dowierciła to just 800 m from the lake Whillans ice in Antarctica and collected the samples.
The discovery gives hope astrobiologom who dream about life on other bodies of the solar system, for example, in subglacial oceans on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, or in the polar caps on Mars.
Antarctica is about 400 lakes locked beneath the ice. The team Priscu dowierciła to one of them in January 2013. They used hot water, which helped them to melt the ice and dowiercić to imprisoned by the water. This water is in the liquid state in spite of frost because of its large ice pressure.
Recall – like search lead Russians, who have been trying dowiercić and download the uncontaminated samples from Lake Vostok. They managed to break through to the Vostok in 2012, but the samples were contaminated with oil, which helped in drilling.
The Americans claim that bacteria from the samples did not come from pollution, but actually live in Whillans. The proof is to be their uniqueness. – They are similar to the bacteria that live in the oceans – says Priscu.
Found approx. 4,000 species of bacteria. Most of these ammonium ions are digested by changing them in nitrogen compounds. Others feed on methane.
(ew / NewScientist / NSF)
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