What would you expect to find within a permanently frozen Antarctic lake?
Lake Enigma sits between two glaciers, Amorphous and Boulder Clay, in Antarcticas Northern Foothills.
Back at the lab, the researchers found something surprising in the samples: life.
The area investigated in the Lake Enigma study.© Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01842-5
SuperphylumPatescibacteriais an extremely simple bacteria with limited functions.
Collectively, these features reveal a new complexity in Antarctic lake food webs, the researchers wrote.
After developing in isolation for perhaps millions of years, however, they are likely different from their ancestors.
Antarctica is classified as adesert; despite its thick ice sheets, it has very low precipitation.
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