Investigations began when the major eruption of the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcano occurred. In 2020, satellite images were taken in which the appearance of the underground river in Antarctica was observed. So Horwan prop
After locating the cameras in various areas of the underwater channel, what they found was more than they bargained for. In fact, they said they never imagined they would find a new living species in a place like this. Most surprising of all, these experiments are not new.
An enigmatic submerged cave
The team of researchers who
witnessed the wonderful, undiscovered ecosystem noticed that the cave they were in looked like a kind of cathedral. Well, the ice roof had several very particular undulations that made it look like a place of worship.
What information is there about the species found?
Swarm of small underwater animals caught at a depth of 500 meters in Antarctica. Credit: NIWA/Craig Stevens
Unfortunately so far there is not much information about this, this is because they are trying to take care of this untapped ecosystem. However, it is hoped that scientists will be able to do more research in this regard and discover the origin of the specific amphipods.
So far many unanswered questions have arisen, such as: what do these small animals eat? How do they survive such low temperatures? How are nutrients maintained so many feet deep?
You may also be interested in: They discover a fossilized forest hidden millions of years ago in Brazil.
The truth is that the fact that these species are endangered due to global warming is also very worrying. To this end, the researchers will continue to study the site. It’s possible that at some point we’ll know the answers, and maybe we’ll end up more surprised than we think.
