[HN Gopher] Deepest Dive Under Antarctica Reveals a Vibrant World
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       Deepest Dive Under Antarctica Reveals a Vibrant World
        
       Author : chapulin
       Score  : 46 points
       Date   : 2024-02-25 15:23 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nationalgeographic.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nationalgeographic.com)
        
       | Retr0id wrote:
       | (2017) (subscription-only)
        
       | throwup238 wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/i1NAM
        
       | geor9e wrote:
       | By "Under Antarctica" they mean under the ice shelves that extend
       | off the coast. Technically the ice shelves are considered inside
       | the continent's border, despite water underneath.
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet#/medi...
        
         | adrian_b wrote:
         | The bottom of the sea is very interesting there, because it is
         | densely populated but the abundant species are very different
         | from other seas and more similar to what can be found in other
         | places only at much higher depths.
         | 
         | Instead of abundant crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks,
         | "Under Antarctica" the most abundant big animals on the bottom
         | are echinoderms, sea spiders and nemertean worms.
        
           | mrweiner wrote:
           | Any idea what the reason for that is? Is it simply because
           | the shallows are darker and colder?
        
             | adrian_b wrote:
             | It is not known for sure, but the most plausible
             | explanation is that during the last Ice Ages the crabs and
             | most fish have disappeared from there due to low
             | temperatures.
             | 
             | The disappearance of these predators has allowed other
             | animal groups to flourish, while in other places those
             | groups are restricted to higher depths, where such
             | predators are also absent.
        
       | _justinfunk wrote:
       | The Why Files did this episode last week
       | (https://youtu.be/IQz7innxnms).
       | 
       | It is Atlantis under the ice, after all.
        
       | Voultapher wrote:
       | Cynical take. Vibrant and abundant because we as humans haven't
       | been there much.
        
         | malfist wrote:
         | Yet!
        
         | netsharc wrote:
         | We really are the most invasive species.. reading about the
         | abundance of octopuses makes me sad that 1 monkey-derived
         | species got smart enough to invent tools and is now on its way
         | to killing its host...
        
       | marklar423 wrote:
       | If you like this sort of thing, give Subnautica (and its sequel,
       | Below Zero) a spin.
        
         | RecentlyThawed wrote:
         | Subnautica is such a great exploration game. Super excited for
         | Subnautica 2 this year
        
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       (page generated 2024-02-25 23:02 UTC)