Ice as the Keeper of Life

Bondarenko Nina, Obolkina Lyubov, and Timoshkin Oleg

Until recently biological science has shown little interest in the search of life in the conditions of the cold and negative temperatures. It was believed that “life” and “ice” are incompatible. But reality is far richer than imagination – life was discovered in the mountain snows, sea icecaps, and glaciers. One of the last discoveries made by researchers from Limnological Institute (Irkutsk) are cryophilic communities of living organisms within Baikal ice.

These “polar inhabitants” of the lake live in intercrystalline water that fills pores and canals in the loose thawing ice. Transparent finger-shaped “beakers” with orange inclusions and large mucous “beards” drooped down in water teem with infusoria, young fish, and amphipoda … This diverse and abundant ice “jungle” community is completely unusual for fresh water reservoirs and keeps a lot of mysteries.