Liver Science
By
July 5, 2021
Microbes living in an ice-covered lake in Antarctica are feasting on crushed rocks, researchers have discovered. And the little critters are thriving.
Subglacial lakes are bodies of freshwater, a majority of which are found in Antarctica, trapped between Earth‘s crust, or bedrock, and thick sheets of ice — sometimes several miles thick. These lakes are teeming with diverse microbes that feed off nutrients in the water. However, until now researchers were unsure exactly where these nutrients came from.