Судлаачид Тэйлорын мөсөн голын дор сая сая жилийн турш тусгаарлагдсан далайн гаралтай бичил биетүүдийн идэвхтэй бүлгэмдлийг илрүүлсэн байна.
Nature Geoscience сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн судалгаагаар Антарктидын “Цусны хүрхрээ”-ний доорх давстай усанд эртний далайн экосистемийн ул мөр хадгалагдан үлдсэнийг тогтоожээ. Калифорнийн их сургуулийн микробиологич Анжела Зоумплисээр ахлуулсан баг тус бүс нутгаас 167 дээж цуглуулж, РНХ-ийн шинжилгээ хийснээр тэнд амьд бичил биетүүд байгааг баталсан байна. Эдгээр бичил биет нь зөвхөн үхсэн организмын үлдэгдэл биш, харин хүйтэн, давс ихтэй, төмрийн агууламж өндөртэй хатуу ширүүн орчинд дасан зохицсон идэвхтэй бүлгэмдэл болох нь тогтоогджээ.
Судлаачид диатом, динофлагеллят зэрэг далайн орчинд элбэг байдаг эукариот бичил биетүүдийг илрүүлсэн бөгөөд эдгээр нь салхиар зөөгдөж ирсэн бус, тухайн орчиндоо олон сая жилийн турш тэсвэрлэн үлдсэн болохыг тогтоожээ. Антарктидын мөсөн бүрхүүл үүсэхээс өмнө далайн ус тус бүс нутагт нэвтэрч, мөсөн доорх давстай усан сан нь эдгээр организмын хувьд “хоргодох байр” болсон байх магадлалтай гэж эрдэмтэд үзэж байна.
Энэхүү нээлт нь Антарктидын эртний далай болон мөсөн голын хоорондын холбоог ойлгоход чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Цаашид энэхүү тусгаарлагдсан экосистем нь хүрээлэн буй орчны өөрчлөлтөд туйл орчмын амьд биетүүд хэрхэн дасан зохицдог болохыг судлах үндэс суурь болох ажээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A strange red stream in Antarctica has revealed an unexpected secret beneath the ice. Scientists have discovered an active community of ancient microorganisms living below Taylor Glacier, suggesting that Blood Falls has preserved traces of a marine ecosystem isolated for millions of years.
The discovery, published in Nature Geoscience, adds a new chapter to one of Antarctica’s most unusual landscapes. The famous red flow is not just the result of iron-rich water escaping from beneath a glacier; it is also home to a community of microscopic organisms that have survived in a place cut off from the outside world.
First spotted by Australian geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor during an expedition in 1911, Blood Falls quickly became one of Antarctica’s most puzzling features. The red-colored water flowing into Lake Bonney was once thought to be caused by algae, but scientists later found a different explanation.
A Hidden Microbial Community Beneath The Ice
The new study looked at a part of Blood Falls that had received less attention before: its eukaryotic microorganisms. Unlike bacteria and archaea, which have been studied extensively at the site, eukaryotic microbes have more complex cells and include organisms such as microscopic algae and other single-celled life forms.
The research team, led by microbiologist Angela Zoumplis from the University of California, San Diego, wanted to find out whether these organisms were present in the ancient brine and whether they could reveal more about the history of the underground environment.
“This is an environment that looks almost completely cut off from the ocean today,” Zoumplis explained in a release published by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “But when we looked at the molecular signatures of the organisms living in the red mud and sediment around Blood Falls, we saw a surprisingly strong marine signal. That tells us this place may be preserving traces of an older connection between the Dry Valleys and the sea.”
According to the researchers, they collected 167 samples from Blood Falls, the surrounding McMurdo Dry Valleys, and nearby marine areas. The samples came from the red water, sediments, ice, and mud around the site. By analyzing environmental RNA, they was able to identify organisms that were still active rather than only detecting old genetic material left behind by dead organisms.
“That activity is what makes the finding especially exciting,” added Zoumplis. “We are not simply seeing genetic leftovers. We are seeing evidence of organisms responding to a harsh, changing environment — freezing, thawing, salt stress, iron exposure, and long periods of inactivity.”
The results showed a unique community of marine-related microorganisms living around Blood Falls. The scientists found groups including diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes, and ciliates, all of which are usually linked to ocean environments.
Signs Of An Ancient Ocean Trapped Under Antarctica
The discovery raised an important question: did these microorganisms actually survive beneath the glacier, or were they recently carried there from elsewhere? The researchers looked for signs that the organisms had simply been transported inland by wind from the coast. That explanation did not match the data.
“These results point to persistence, not just delivery,” Andrew E. Allen, professor at JCVI and Scripps Oceanography noted. “The molecular signatures we detected point to a localized community shaped by the unusual chemistry and history of Blood Falls. That gives us a biological window into past Antarctic ocean-ice-land connections.”
The study said that these marine microorganisms were strongly concentrated around Blood Falls instead of being spread across the wider Dry Valleys. Several also showed genetic differences from their modern relatives, suggesting that they had been separated from other populations for a very long time. The scientists believe the microorganisms are descendants of a marine community that became trapped when ancient seawater entered the region before the modern Antarctic ice sheet developed.
The underground brine may have acted as a shelter as Antarctica became colder and drier. The salty water stayed liquid beneath the glacier, creating conditions where some organisms could continue living. Some species appear to have developed ways to handle the extreme salt levels, while others may have survived by entering inactive states.
Ancient Antarctica Revealed Through Blood Falls
The microorganisms hidden beneath Taylor Glacier offer a rare chance to study a living ecosystem connected to Antarctica’s distant past. Instead of relying only on fossils or chemical evidence, scientists can examine organisms that may still carry clues from an ancient environment.
“In highlighting this area as a unique refuge of ancient lineages,”the authors wrote, “this study establishes a foundation for future work on how relict ecosystems illuminate past environmental change and future polar vulnerability.”
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