Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath.
Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures colour the ice and make it melt faster.
There are no plants, and only very few animals: people rarely come here. The large glaciers in Greenland have long been perceived as ice deserts. Gigantic ice sheets where conditions for life are extremely harsh.
But now, it seems, we have been wrong. There is much more life on the glaciers than we thought.
Headed by Professor Alexandre Anesio, a group of researchers from the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University have discovered that the glaciers are teeming with life. Microbes that have adapted to life on the ice. And not just one or two species. Several thousand different species.
Read more at Aarhus University
Image: Danish researchers have found more than 4,000 different species of microorganisms in melt holes in the ice like these. (Credit: Laura Halbach)
