Perennial Antarctic Lake Ice: An Oasis for Life in a Polar Desert

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Priscu, John C., Fritsen, Christian H., Adams, Edward E., Giovannoni, Stephen J., Paerl, Hans W., McKay, Christopher P., Doran, Peter T., Gordon, Douglas A., Lanoil, Brian D., Pinckney, James L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1998
• Subjects: Antarctic; McMurdo Dry Valleys; Antarc*; polar desert
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5372.2095; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.280.5372.2095

The permanent ice covers of Antarctic lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys develop liquid water inclusions in response to solar heating of internal aeolian-derived sediments. The ice sediment particles serve as nutrient (inorganic and organic)–enriched microzones for the establishment of a physiologically and ecologically complex microbial consortium capable of contemporaneous photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, and decomposition. The consortium is capable of physically and chemically establishing and modifying a relatively nutrient- and organic matter–enriched microbial “oasis” embedded in the lake ice cover.