Open AccessMicrobial activity discovered in previously ice‐entombed Arctic ecosystems
Author(s) -
Welker J. M.,
Fahnestock J. T.,
Henry G. H. R.,
'Dea K. W.,
Piper R. E.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2002eo000198
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , arctic , ecosystem , ecology , habitat , extreme environment , the arctic , terrestrial ecosystem , earth science , permafrost , oceanography , geography , environmental science , biology , geology , paleontology , bacteria
One of the more intriguing discoveries in the biogeochemical sciences in recent years is the tremendous capacity of microbial populations to occupy and flourish in extreme habitats [ Rothschild and Mancinelli 2001]. Microbial populations survive and multiply under a diversity of harsh conditions, including the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and on the ocean floor around thermal vents. At the other extreme, active microbial communities occupy some of the coldest and driest habitats on Earth. For instance, a variety of bacterial and fungal species have been found in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, and there is evidence that microbes are also present beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet in Lake Vostok, a system that has not been exposed to the atmosphere for thousands of years.