Biological investigations of the Antarctic ice sheet: review, problems and projects
The Antarctic Icecap has attracted considerable attention of scientists for many years. Many microbiological and general biological studies of the ground surface, snow and glacial cover have been performed. In recent decades, it has been discovered that the Antarctic ice sheet is a unique depository...
| Summary: | The Antarctic Icecap has attracted considerable attention of scientists for many years. Many microbiological and general biological studies of the ground surface, snow and glacial cover have been performed. In recent decades, it has been discovered that the Antarctic ice sheet is a unique depository of paleoclimatic and paleomicrobiological information that reflects previous ecological events on our planet. Thus, dust particles, spores, plant pollen, and different microorganisms, which were brought onto the glacier surface by wind, appear to be gradually buried in the glacier layers and preserved in the frozen state for hundreds thousands years. These investigations have become especially important in the era of space research, many scientists consider the Antarctic as the most appropriate model to solve some methodical problems in astrobiology. Further developments and improvements of drilling methods have made it possible to penetrate into the deepest levels of the Antarctic Icecap, including the lower layers of so-called accretion ice above the sub-glacial Lake Vostok. The initial glaciological and microbiological investigations were mainly focused on the glacier ice and gave very useful information on the history of the Earth's climate and the distribution of dust particles and microorganisms in the ice sheet during different periods. However, studies of the deep accretion ice and the sub-glacial Lake Vostok are expected to provide more insight into relict microbial forms and give rise to new investigations of the Antarctic ice cover. These works should include searches for microbial life in the accretion ice and Lake Vostok, and requires new biological techniques, new multidisciplinary approaches and international cooperation. Nowadays, biological investigations of the Earth's polar regions are of paramount importance in view of current ecological problems. Of no less significance is the search for possible extraterrestrial life, since permafrost and glaciers are widely spread in the Universe; this is why, ... |
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