Science

A lake containing the oldest bacteria on Earth has been discovered in Antarctica

Unique lake discovered under 11-meter thick ice in Antarctica

Researchers have made a startling discovery: beneath the thickness of ice lies an isolated ecosystem that has no analogues in the world. According to scientists, it contains the quintessence of all life on Earth.

A lake containing the oldest bacteria on Earth has been discovered in Antarctica
Photo: Photo: Huang Taoming, Source: XinHua/Globallookpress.com

A group of scientists from the Italian National Research Council has found in the Antarctic ice an ice-free Lake Enigma, which contains, in fact, the primordial life of the Earth. The depth of this subglacial body of water - not less than 12 meters, and from the outside world it is separated from the 11-meter ice cover.

Previously, the scientific community believed that this region in the northern part of Queen Victoria Land in Antarctica is completely frozen. However, it turned out that at a depth of 11 meters there is a layer of liquid water. The ice sheet not only protects Lake Enigma from freezing, but also contributed to the formation of a unique biological environment, reports the portal “Main Regional”

The chemical composition of water in this lake is unlike any other body of water on the planet. Thanks to this, it formed bacterial colonies, which, according to scientists, existed on Earth during the origin of life. They are much older than dinosaurs, trilobites and almost all life forms known to us.

The mechanism by which the lake was able to persist for hundreds of millions of years remains a mystery that requires further study.

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Author: Наталья Чудесатова

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