LAYERS the ice in East Antarctica has indeed started to melt and, as a result, has raised the sea level by as much as 52 meters. However, it turns out that there are other dangers than rising sea levels.
Recently, scientists discovered a genetic match between viruses that slept in the sediments of Arctic lakes. In fact, this virus has a potential host that is still alive which allows the virus to replicate.
Earth’s climate is warming at a spectacular rate, and up to four times faster in colder areas like the Arctic. Estimates suggest that 4 sextillion microorganisms are released each year by melting ice. This is roughly the same as the estimated number of stars in the universe.
However, despite the large number of microorganisms released by melting ice, no one has been able to estimate the risk this poses to modern ecosystems. In a new study in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, simulations show that the simulated release of just 1% of a single dormant pathogen can cause severe environmental damage and widespread loss of host organisms worldwide.
Through simulations using Avida software, invading pathogens often survive and evolve in the simulated modern world. About 3% of these pathogens then become dominant in the new environment, in which case they are most likely to infect modern hosts.
In the worst case, but still plausible, an invasion reduces the size of its host community by 30%. The risk from some of these pathogens may seem small, but keep in mind that this is the result of releasing only one specific pathogen into a simulated environment. With many ancient microbes being released into the real world, such outbreaks pose a grave danger.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Center of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University and Giovanni Strona said there was a hidden threat to this case.
“Our results show that this unexpected threat that has hitherto been confined to science fiction can be a powerful driver of ecological change,” he said as quoted by Science Alert.
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