July 18th 05, 05:14 PM
American Geophysical Union
Colgate University
Hamilton College
University of Barcelona
Joint Release
18 July 2005
AGU Release No. 05-25
For Immediate Release
Discovering an Ecosystem Beneath a Collapsed Antarctic Ice Shelf
AGU Contact: Harvey Leifert
+1 (202) 777-7507
Hamilton College Contact: Vige Barrie
+1 (315) 859-4623
Colgate University Contact: Caroline Jenkins
+1 (315) 228-6637
University of Barcelona Contact: Rosa Martinez
+(34) 93 403 5544
WASHINGTON--The chance discovery of a vast ecosystem
beneath the collapsed Larsen Ice Shelf will allow scientists to
explore the uncharted life below Antarctica's floating ice shelves
and further probe the origins of life in extreme environments.
Researchers discovered the sunless habitat after a recent
underwater video study examining a deep glacial trough in the
northwestern Weddell Sea following the sudden Larsen B shelf
collapse in 2002.
"This is definitely the biggest thing I've ever been involved with in
the Antarctic," said Eugene Domack, a professor at Hamilton
College in New York and lead author of the report detailing the
ecosystem. The article will be published in the 19 July issue of Eos,
the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical
Union. "Seeing these organisms on the ocean bottom--it's like
lifting the carpet off the floor and finding a layer that you never
knew was there."
Domack suggests the strong possibility that new species of marine
life may be uncovered in continuing analyses of the area as
ecosystem experts sample the site. The international expedition
was there on a U.S. Antarctic Program cruise to study the sediment
record in the area vacated by the former ice shelf. The crew
recorded a video of the seafloor at the end of its mission and only
later discovered a thriving clam community, mud volcanoes, and a
thin layer of bacterial mats.
The discovery could provide evidence for researchers to better
understand the dynamics within the inhospitable sub-ice setting,
which covers more than 1.5 million square kilometers [nearly
580,000 square miles] of seafloor, or an area of the same
magnitude as the Amazon basin in Brazil or the Sahara Desert. The
ecosystem, known as a "cold-seep" (or cold-vent) community, is
fed by chemical energy from within the Earth, unlike ecosystems
that are driven by photosynthesis or hot emissions from the planet's
crust. Domack and his coauthors propose that methane from deep
underwater vents likely provide the energy source capable of
sustaining the chemical life at the observed 850-meter
[approximately 2,800-foot] depth.
Such extreme cold-vent regions have previously been found near
Monterey, California, where the phenomenon was discovered in
1984, in the Gulf of Mexico, and deep within the Sea of Japan. The
recent report, however, presents the first finding of the type in the
Antarctic, where the near-freezing water temperatures and almost
completely uncharted territory will likely provide a baseline for
researchers to probe portions of the ocean floor that have been
undisturbed for nearly 10,000 years. The researchers speculate, for
example, that the ice shelves themselves may have played a critical
role in allowing the chemical habitat to thrive on the seafloor when
it otherwise might not have established itself.
Domack noted, however, that the calving of the Larsen B Shelf has
opened the pristine chemical-based ecosystem to disturbances and
debris that have already begun to bury the delicate mats and
mollusks established within the underwater environment. He added
that there may be a sense of urgency to investigate the unusual
seafloor ecology below the Larsen shelf because of the likelihood
of increased sediment deposition.
In addition, he suggests that the newfound system may provide
incentive to launch studies to other remote undersea environments
in the poles and in other glacial settings such as Lake Vostok, also
in the Antarctic, to further explore the little-understood connection
where ice sheets, the seafloor, and circulating water meet. The
researchers indicate that the knowledge gained from any
subsequent studies could enhance the examination of subterranean
water on Earth or the hypothesized ocean beneath the surface on
the Jovian moon Europa.
The research was supported by NSF grants to Hamilton College,
Colgate University, and Southern Illinois University.
**********
Notes for Journalists
Journalists (only) may obtain a pdf copy of this paper upon request
to Jonathan Lifland: . Please provide your name,
name of publication, phone, and email address. The paper and this
press release are not under embargo.
Title: Chemotrophic Ecosystem Beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf,
Antarctica
Authors:
Eugene Domack, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, USA.
Scott Ishman, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois,
USA.
Amy Leventer, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA.
Sean Sylva, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, USA.
Veronica Willmott, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Bruce Huber, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Palisades,
New York, USA.
Citation: Domack, E., et al. (2005), Chemotrophic Ecosystem
Beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica, Eos., Vol. 86, 29, doi:
10.1029/2005EO290001, 2005.
Contact information for author:
Eugene Domack: or
+1 (315) 682-8899
# # #
Colgate University
Hamilton College
University of Barcelona
Joint Release
18 July 2005
AGU Release No. 05-25
For Immediate Release
Discovering an Ecosystem Beneath a Collapsed Antarctic Ice Shelf
AGU Contact: Harvey Leifert
+1 (202) 777-7507
Hamilton College Contact: Vige Barrie
+1 (315) 859-4623
Colgate University Contact: Caroline Jenkins
+1 (315) 228-6637
University of Barcelona Contact: Rosa Martinez
+(34) 93 403 5544
WASHINGTON--The chance discovery of a vast ecosystem
beneath the collapsed Larsen Ice Shelf will allow scientists to
explore the uncharted life below Antarctica's floating ice shelves
and further probe the origins of life in extreme environments.
Researchers discovered the sunless habitat after a recent
underwater video study examining a deep glacial trough in the
northwestern Weddell Sea following the sudden Larsen B shelf
collapse in 2002.
"This is definitely the biggest thing I've ever been involved with in
the Antarctic," said Eugene Domack, a professor at Hamilton
College in New York and lead author of the report detailing the
ecosystem. The article will be published in the 19 July issue of Eos,
the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical
Union. "Seeing these organisms on the ocean bottom--it's like
lifting the carpet off the floor and finding a layer that you never
knew was there."
Domack suggests the strong possibility that new species of marine
life may be uncovered in continuing analyses of the area as
ecosystem experts sample the site. The international expedition
was there on a U.S. Antarctic Program cruise to study the sediment
record in the area vacated by the former ice shelf. The crew
recorded a video of the seafloor at the end of its mission and only
later discovered a thriving clam community, mud volcanoes, and a
thin layer of bacterial mats.
The discovery could provide evidence for researchers to better
understand the dynamics within the inhospitable sub-ice setting,
which covers more than 1.5 million square kilometers [nearly
580,000 square miles] of seafloor, or an area of the same
magnitude as the Amazon basin in Brazil or the Sahara Desert. The
ecosystem, known as a "cold-seep" (or cold-vent) community, is
fed by chemical energy from within the Earth, unlike ecosystems
that are driven by photosynthesis or hot emissions from the planet's
crust. Domack and his coauthors propose that methane from deep
underwater vents likely provide the energy source capable of
sustaining the chemical life at the observed 850-meter
[approximately 2,800-foot] depth.
Such extreme cold-vent regions have previously been found near
Monterey, California, where the phenomenon was discovered in
1984, in the Gulf of Mexico, and deep within the Sea of Japan. The
recent report, however, presents the first finding of the type in the
Antarctic, where the near-freezing water temperatures and almost
completely uncharted territory will likely provide a baseline for
researchers to probe portions of the ocean floor that have been
undisturbed for nearly 10,000 years. The researchers speculate, for
example, that the ice shelves themselves may have played a critical
role in allowing the chemical habitat to thrive on the seafloor when
it otherwise might not have established itself.
Domack noted, however, that the calving of the Larsen B Shelf has
opened the pristine chemical-based ecosystem to disturbances and
debris that have already begun to bury the delicate mats and
mollusks established within the underwater environment. He added
that there may be a sense of urgency to investigate the unusual
seafloor ecology below the Larsen shelf because of the likelihood
of increased sediment deposition.
In addition, he suggests that the newfound system may provide
incentive to launch studies to other remote undersea environments
in the poles and in other glacial settings such as Lake Vostok, also
in the Antarctic, to further explore the little-understood connection
where ice sheets, the seafloor, and circulating water meet. The
researchers indicate that the knowledge gained from any
subsequent studies could enhance the examination of subterranean
water on Earth or the hypothesized ocean beneath the surface on
the Jovian moon Europa.
The research was supported by NSF grants to Hamilton College,
Colgate University, and Southern Illinois University.
**********
Notes for Journalists
Journalists (only) may obtain a pdf copy of this paper upon request
to Jonathan Lifland: . Please provide your name,
name of publication, phone, and email address. The paper and this
press release are not under embargo.
Title: Chemotrophic Ecosystem Beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf,
Antarctica
Authors:
Eugene Domack, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, USA.
Scott Ishman, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois,
USA.
Amy Leventer, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA.
Sean Sylva, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, USA.
Veronica Willmott, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Bruce Huber, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Palisades,
New York, USA.
Citation: Domack, E., et al. (2005), Chemotrophic Ecosystem
Beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica, Eos., Vol. 86, 29, doi:
10.1029/2005EO290001, 2005.
Contact information for author:
Eugene Domack: or
+1 (315) 682-8899
# # #