antarctic ice sheet

Antarctica is a cold, largely barren place, but researchers report they have come upon a previously unknown place on the frozen continent that may be teeming with life.

The water below the Antarctic ice sheet is as cold and dark as ever, but it turns out it’s not as desolate as scientists thought. There’s a whole ecosystem down there.

A U.S. team found nearly 4,000 species in a subglacial lake that hasn’t seen sunlight in millennia, showing life can thrive even under the ice.