Glaciers are capable of preserving information about the history of the Earth, as they trap dust particles, traces of gas, microbes and plant matter from the environment.
Today, a search team from the meteorite expedition of the Ural Federal University set out for Antarctica, which will work as part of the 67th Russian Antarctic Expedition, organized by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the press service of Roscosmos reports. Professional mountain guides, “Snow Leopards” Vitaly Lazo and Ruslan Kolunin, headed to Antarctica.
For the first time, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov will set foot on the ice of Antarctica, who returned from space in April of this year after six months of work on the ISS, as well as professor, vice-rector for science at Kazan Federal University Danis Nurgaliev and the main, in addition to UrFU and KFU, investor of the expedition Andrei Nazarov.
“The Antarctic ice shell, which has accumulated cosmic matter for millions of years, is in constant motion, creeping from ice domes to mountain ranges.
As a result of exposure to sun, wind and temperature changes, the ice is destroyed, exposing its treasures in mountainous areas. Our main task is to identify zones of accumulation of meteorite matter near mountains in areas of so-called blue ice. Fragments of meteorite matter are clearly visible on the surface of the Arctic ice… In the laboratory, the ice blocks will be heated, the melt water will be filtered, and particles of cosmic dust may be found in the dry residue. It is assumed that, passing through the earth’s atmosphere, microscopic dust does not experience thermal stress and therefore retains on its surface everything that it carries from space. Thus, cosmic dust is of particular interest to astrobiologists searching for traces of cosmic life,” said the head, university researcher, and experienced mountaineer Alexander Pastukhovich.
Meanwhile, in the summer of 2021, American scientists discovered about three dozen types of unknown viruses in samples of ancient ice from the Tibetan plateau. The age of the ice is estimated at 15 thousand years. The genetic codes of 33 viruses were found in it, four of which were already known, and 28 were completely new, unlike modern ones.
At the same time, in South Africa, in the oldest sedimentary rocks on Earth, scientists discovered microbial fossils dating back 3.42 billion years. According to the authors, microorganisms lived in underwater cavities where water came from warm hydrothermal springs, in an oxygen-free environment, and fed on methane. This is the oldest evidence of life on our planet to date. The authors admit that similar organisms could have lived on Mars at the same time, where conditions then were approximately the same as on Earth.
In 2021, the Saskatchewan Glacier in Canada in Banff National Park melted by more than 10 meters. “This is clearly the most severe melting we’ve seen,” Brian Menounos, a glaciologist at the University of Northern British Columbia, told CBC Edmonton Radio Active.
Shrubs are becoming more common in the Arctic, which is also aggravating the situation with melting glaciers and warming. Data from temperature sensors installed in the soil showed that the temperature difference in areas with and without vegetation can be 10°-15°. Naturally, in this case, the depth of permafrost thawing increases by 3-4 times and can reach 400-430 cm, while in areas without “insulation” in the form of snow, the thawing depth does not exceed 70 cm, reports meteovesti.ru.