As part of a new study carried out by researchers from the University of Tasmania with the participation of Bonn
This age means that sedimentary DNA will helpstudy the long-term response of ocean ecosystems to climate change. It will also be useful in assessing current and future changes in marine life around the frozen continent.
Antarctica is one of the most vulnerableto global warming of regions on Earth. Therefore, studying the past and present responses of the polar marine ecosystem to environmental and climate change is critical and urgent.
Derrick with drill pipe. Photo: Michael Weber
Ancient Sedimentary DNA Analysis (sedaDNA) —a new method that helps decipher “who” lived in the ocean in the past and when. In addition, times of major changes in composition may be associated with climate change. Such knowledge will be useful in predicting the future of marine life around Antarctica.
An international group of scientists involvedsedaDNA to investigate changes in the structures of marine organisms in the Scotia Sea over the last million years. They used sediments collected during the 2019 IODP (International Ocean Discovery Program) Expedition 382, Iceberg Alley and Subantarctic Ice-Ocean Dynamics. The goal is to ensure that the sedaDNA signals are genuine, including, for example, examining patterns of age-related damage in the recovered DNA fragments. The scientists were able to detect ancient DNA that was one million years old.
“This is by far the oldest authenticated marine sedaDNA to date,” explains Dr. Linda Armbrecht, lead researcher at the University of Tasmania, Australia.
Среди обнаруженных организмов были диатомеи как major primary producers whose DNA has been traced back half a million years. The data also showed that diatoms were abundant during warm climate periods and their abundance was stable.
The latest such change in the marine food webScotia occurred about 14,500 years ago. Scientists have linked it to a worldwide and rapid rise in sea levels and massive ice loss in Antarctica due to natural warming. It was caused by increased productivity of the ocean around the mainland.
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