The south polar region’s Lake Enigma has a reputation for being a puzzle. The permanently frozen lake, named for the unusual cone of debris at its centre, was, until recently, believed to be completely solid ice. However, researchers have discovered a layer of fresh water beneath the frozen surface, occupied by a diverse variety of microorganisms.
Between November 2019 and January 2020, researchers conducted a survey of the lake using ground-penetrating radar and discovered at least 40 feet (12 metres) of liquid water beneath the ice. They then used a drill to penetrate the ice and a camera was sent down to explore the lake’s depths.
The team initially tested the water to determine its origin. This was necessary to understand because the region experiences low precipitation, strong winds and extremely high solar evaporation, which would usually cause any water in Lake Enigma to have completely evaporated by now.
The researchers formed a theory that the lake’s water is replenished consistently based on the chemical composition of the salts found in the water, which suggests that the nearby Amorphous Glacier must be providing the water through an unseen underground route.
There is a hidden ecosystem buried beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
Researchers discovered that the waters of Lake Enigma, despite being cut off from the air, harbour several varieties of microbial life, with microorganisms covering the lake bed in formations known as microbial mats. A substantial portion of these organisms are photosynthetic, resulting in considerable dissolved oxygen levels in the lake.
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It may have evolved unique metabolic mechanisms in order to thrive.
“This discovery illustrates the intricate and diverse nature of food webs in Antarctic lakes covered permanently in ice, with symbiotic and predatory relationships being a feature that was not previously acknowledged,” the researchers wrote in the study.
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