Many view Antarctica as a frozen wasteland. Turns out there are hidden interconnected lakes underneath¹ its dry valleys that could sustain life and shed light on ancient climate change. Jill Mikucki, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, microbiology assistant professor, was part of a team that detected extensive salty groundwater networks in Antarctica using a novel airborne electromagnetic mapping sensor² system called SkyTEM.

 

The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, provides compelling evidence that the underground lakes and brine-saturated³ sediments⁵ may support subsurface microbial ecosystems⁷.

 

The study is published in the current edition of the journal Nature Communications.

 

The findings allow scientists to better learn how Antarctica has responded to climate change over time, said Mikucki, the study's lead author. The findings also help them understand glacial dynamics⁸.

 

"It may change the way people think about the coastal⁹ margins¹⁰ of Antarctica," she said. "We know there is significant saturated sediment⁴ below the surface that is likely seeping¹¹ into the ocean and affecting the productivity of things that feed ocean food webs. It lends to the understanding of the flow of nutrients¹² and how that might affect ecosystem⁶ health."

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