Surprising Discovery Beneath Frozen Antarctic Lake – How Did These Creatures Get There?

Cynthia McKanzie- MessageToEagle.com –Who would have thought these tiny, curious creatures could be discovered beneath the frozen Antarctic Lake Mercer? It seems nothing can hide forever.

They were long considered to be immortal, but it turns out our knowledge of these small fighters that can survive almost everything must be re-evaluated. Recently, a group of scientists drilled a hole in the thick, frozen ice of Antarctica and what they found beneath the lake came as a shock.

Antarctica. Credit: Public Domain

Micropaleontologist David Harwood explained to Nature researchers found remains of several once-living creatures. Among them were some ancient crustaceans, and even a tardigrade, commonly known as a water bear.

Tardigrades are remarkable micro-animals that can survive in almost any hostile environment we can think of. Whether we are dealing with mountaintops, deep sea, mud volcanoes, or tropical rain forests is irrelevant because tardigrades possess extraordinary ability to adapt and can live everywhere.

Yes, you guessed right – tardigrades have been found on Antarctica as well. But this discovery is different because researchers are wondering how they ended up beneath the ice? Where did they come from?

Based on studies conducted so far it seems the animals haven’t been dead for a very long time. Byron Adams, animal ecologist who investigated the creatures confirmed Antarctica researchers had come across crustaceans, a tardigrade, and he identified the worm-like organisms as being thread-like plants or fungi. Adams said he had previously seen similar ancient creatures in in the glacier-free Dry Valleys of Antarctica, as well as in the Transantarctic Mountains.

See also:

Previously Undetected Huge Subglacial Valleys And Mountains Discovered Near Antarctica’s South Pole

Prehistoric Forest Discovered On Antarctica – It Existed Long Before Dinosaurs Roamed The Earth

World’s Largest Volcanoes Are Hidden Beneath Antarctica Ice Sheet – Are They Still Active?

More About Earth Changes

But how did these tiny animals reach Lake Mercer? That questions remains unsolved right but now, but there are some theories. It’s possible they came from the ocean.

There was a time, about 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, when Antarctica’s ice sheet was thinner, “allowing seawater to intrude under floating ice that was hundreds of meters thick and reach what is now Lake Mercer. Any animals that came in with the ocean could have been trapped in pockets of water when the ice sheet thickened and once more came to rest like a lid on the sea floor.”

Water samples show Lake Mercer has enough oxygen to sustain life. The entire lake is filled with bacteria, over 10,000 cells per millimeter.

Milnesium tardigradum in active state. Credit: Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5 

Adams suggests the dead ancient creatures found beneath the ice may once have lived in the Transantarctic Mountains, and when they died, they were simply transported down to Lake Mercer.

However, before scientists can offer definite answers, they must first take DNA samples and determined the age of the tiny, ancient creatures that were more vulnerable than we previously thought.

Meanwhile, we can only wait for the next news from Antarctica and hopefully learn more about what is hidden beneath the thick ice. At the end, nothing can hide forever, but we mustn’t forget that the situation on Antarctica is now rather critical. As reported recently on MessageToEagle.com Antarctica loses six times more ice mass annually now than 40 years ago.

Written by Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer