Life Possible Even at 3,000 Feet Under in Antarctica

Scientists in Antarctica have found life attached to a boulder in the seas under the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf. The evidence of life was located at 2,860 feet of ice and 1,549 feet of water. They are similar to sponges.

The ice sheet itself is massive, spanning more than 579,000 square miles. Generally, enormous icebergs break off of the ice shelves and drift away; in December, one of these broke off and possibly crashed into a breeding ground for sealions and penguins.

These spongey animals seem to be two different types; ones with long stalks, and ones that are round. These animals are at about 160 miles from the open sea. The scientists plan to learn much more about the animals in the future. This certainly opens up ideas of life on the icy moon Enceladus, where the entire moon is surrounded by thick sheet of ice.