Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 06:06
Forums
Antarctic Undersea ROV 09

How can Animals live under the water that can reach temptures about below -40 degrees? Would the possiblity of having the valcanos under water help the creautres live in the natures of the freezing cold water?

-Emily

Fri, 10/02/2009 - 07:00

Stacy Kim

Hi Emily,Antarctic animals have special adaptations that allow them to handle
the cold. As Ms. Cross wrote, some have layers of blubber (whales and
seals) or feathers that trap air to keep them warm (penguins). The
fishes and maybe some invertebrates have a special antifreeze in their
tissues that keeps them from freezing. It is likely that there are
hydrothermal or volcanic vents in the McMurdo Sound region, because it
is volcanically active, but the area that such vents cover and warm is
very tiny. At hydrothermal vents in the deep sea, the temperature
goes from 350 degrees C to 10 degrees C within a few cm, and the
overall area of the seafloor influenced is only tens of m - a tiny
oasis. But it would be very interesting to see what kinds of animals
live around vents in the Antarctic; it would give us another piece of
the biogeographic puzzle of Antarctic as well as vent habitat isolation.
Best, Stacy
On Sep 30, 2009, at 3:06 AM, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote: