Thread by @WIRED

In an attempt to study the history of an Antarctic ice shelf, a group of geologists drilled through half a mile of ice to retrieve sample sediment from the seafloor.

Instead, they found something highly improbable: life 1/ wired.trib.al/R8dwOkk

This video shows the final moments of the research instrument’s descent. After passing through 3,000 feet of blue-green ice and 1,600 feet of dark seawater, the seafloor comes into view. It’s composed of mostly light-colored sediment, but also something dark—a rock 2/

The rock is the home to an unlikely patch of life. An alien-like sponge and other stalked animals dangle from it and stouter, cylindrical sponges hug the surface. It’s covered in a film, likely a layer of bacteria known as a microbial mat, and contains wispy filaments 3/

The discovery is all the more incredible given the rock’s location. It’s hundreds of miles from the nearest potential source of food—a spot that would have enough sunlight to fuel an ecosystem, and be in the right position for currents to supply these creatures with sustenance 4/

Many animals that live sessile (stuck in place) existences on the deep sea floor rely on “marine snow”—morsels of decomposed life that drift downward—as food supply. But these critters live under a half-mile of solid ice. So how on Earth could they be getting sustenance? 5/

It could be that the drift of marine snow has been flipped on its side, so that it is moving horizontally instead of vertically. There are productive regions 390-930 miles away, and it’s possible that enough organic material is riding currents hundreds of miles to the rock 6/

From what they eat to how old they are (Antarctic sponges can live for thousands of years), there’s a lot we don’t know about the rock’s inhabitants. But thanks entirely to chance, we now know they exist.

Learn more about the accidental discovery here 7/ wired.trib.al/R8dwOkk

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