Ancient Ecosystem Found In Ice Pocket 49
ApharmdB writes "Beneath a glacier in Antarctica, scientists have discovered a community of microbes growing in frigid pools of salty water. It's a particularly tough environment, with no light, no oxygen, and extremely cold temperatures. But the microbes appear to live — and thrive — off a combination of iron and sulfur, according to a new study. The result of that strange metabolism is a brilliant red streak of cascading ice called Blood Falls."
Similarity (Score:5, Interesting)
A red streak, huh? Looking at the picture, it's sort of a orange-red rust color. A rust-colored streak in the middle of a bunch of ice. What does it remind me of? Ah, yes [nasa.gov].
Re:How did it first appear? (Score:5, Interesting)
There's no evidence that life could ever appear in such environments starting from abiotic conditions, it seems pretty obvious these organisms evolved from more benign habitats.
Like, say, a moon that's crunchy on the outside, but warm on the inside? With lots of organics and water?
I don't think Europa is a perfect haven for biology, but I can easily imagine a race somewhere that has a complete explanation for how they evolved under an ice crust, and that would scoff at the notion of life on the exposed, irradiated, violent surface of a planet...
Arthur C. Clarke FTW (Score:3, Interesting)
Similar to.. (Score:1, Interesting)
They also have similar "red snow" in the glaciers of the high sierra. Although in the high sierra's, the sun is extremely intense.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plaug98.htm [palomar.edu]
Eating the past, with relish (Score:4, Interesting)
- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Arachipelago
Link [wnec.edu]