Ancient Antarctic algae thrived in the warmth

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-16 08:52

New Zealand; International

Diatom image from the study

Researchers have found that many different types of diatom - single-celled algae - made Antarctica their home when the continent went through a warm period about 15-million years ago. As the continent cooled, there were mass extinctions of these microscopic algae. The scientists say climate change could heat up the continent enough so that similar conditions are seen again in future.

Media release

From: Study author Margaret Harper, Victoria University of Wellington

"The warmth of the Miocene period in Antarctica concerns us because climate change is currently heading in a direction that could well lead to that continent becoming 5°C hotter than now, as it was in the Mid-Miocene 14-15 million years ago.

"This paper shows ancient lake deposits in the Friis Hills, Antarctica from the Miocene contained diatoms (microscopic algae) nearly all of which certainly do not and could not grow in Antarctica today; These hills are currently icy-cold dry desert. Analysis of species shows these algal communities are most like those found in the Sub-Antarctic or Arctic today. There were seasonally ice-free lakes several metres deep with moss round their edges, like the situation in Arctic tundra today.

"This detailed study of diatoms collected from the surface of the Friis Hills by New Zealander Warren Dickinson (ARC, VUW) is helping myself (SGEES, VUW) and Catherine Beltran (Chemistry Department, Otago University) understand what diatoms indicate about freshwater deposits in the longer Miocene record obtained by Friis Hills Drilling Project (leader Richard Levy GNS)."

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Research , Web page Open access

Journal/
conference: Science Advances

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Victoria University of Wellington

Funder: This work was supported by Fund for Scientific Research Flanders FWO (Belgium), grants 1104315N and 1104317N (E.P.); Belgian Science Policy (Belspo, Belgium), projects HOLANT, AMBIO, CCAMBIO, and SAFRED (W.V., E.V., K.S., B.V.d.V., and E.P.); Simons Foundation (USA), postdoc grant in Marine Microbial Ecology, award 725407 (E.P.); Belgian American Education Foundation (Belgium, USA), B.A.E.F. postdoc grant (E.P.); Fulbright Belgium (Belgium, USA), visiting scholar postdoc grant (E.P.); NSF (USA), OPP grants 0440761 and 0739693 (A.P.W., A.C.A., and A.R.L.); Natural Environment Research Council (UK) grant NE/K004514/1 (D.A.H. and B.P.).

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