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Science 19 June 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5934, pp. 1521 - 1522
DOI: 10.1126/science.1173645
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Perspectives

Microbiology:

No Place Too Cold

Johanna Laybourn-Parry

Even the coldest environments on Earth have enough liquid water to sustain life. The scope for biological productivity in the polar regions is constrained by low temperatures and low annual levels of solar radiation, but free water on or under glaciers or ice sheets nevertheless contains numerous species of mostly microorganisms. These delicate ecosystems are widely regarded as sentinels of climate change. Recent studies of polar and glacial lakes, as well as subglacial environments, have shed light on how these ecosystems function and on the role that they play in nutrient cycling.

Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.

E-mail: Jo.Laybourn-Parry{at}utas.edu.au

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
High Diversity of the Viral Community from an Antarctic Lake.
A. Lopez-Bueno, J. Tamames, D. Velazquez, A. Moya, A. Quesada, and A. Alcami (2009)
Science 326, 858-861
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)