Subglacial and Proglacial Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change

摘要: Life beneath glaciers requires efficient adaptive strategies in order to thrive these extreme habitats that are characterized by nutrient and energy limitation, low temperatures reduced water availability. Together with the deep subsurface oceanic basins, subglacial (beneath glaciers) environments among last biosphere-exploration frontiers on Earth. At present we have only a vague idea about types of organisms live ice sheets as well their characteristics (Willerslev et al., 1999, 2007). As consequence do not know what will happen them climate amelioration causes worldwide recede disappear. What observe today almost all glacierised regions World is previous change into proglacial (in front environments, where environmental conditions very different. In this chapter provide an overview our current knowledge ecosystems, highlight potential consequences habitats. The multidisciplinary study its infancy literature rapidly expanding. reported results relevant for understanding biological diversity adaptability general, but they also foundation hypotheses how imagine life survived during periods Earth was totally ice-covered (the so-called Snowball glaciations) may survive case global nuclear disaster Nuclear Winter). fact, seed far-reaching theories whether host past or extra-terrestrial (astrobiological) Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s Titan, even planets moons beyond solar system (Des Marais 2008). addition, cold-adapted valuable source enzymes biotechnological applications (Reddy 2009). A prerequisite it liquid required biochemical processes, electrochemical gradients transfer chemical substances. occurrence largely dependent thermal regime. Beneath cold-based glaciers, i.e. sole frozen substratum, limited resource be primarily restricted few channels. However,