--- title: Scientists Find Life Beneath Antarctic Ice description: A subglacial lake 800 meters beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet has been discovered to have "viable microbial ecosystems." canonical: https://time.com/3154299/check-out-the-freezing-cold-place-where-scientists-found-life/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-21T18:36:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:47:42.479Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists find life beneath Antarctic ice og:description: A subglacial lake 800 meters beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet has been discovered to have "viable microbial ecosystems." og:url: https://time.com/3154299/check-out-the-freezing-cold-place-where-scientists-found-life/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e8f53c2dae8e9af/6986a066cd6848b684096267/christner_fig2c-highres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1765 og:image:height: 993 og:image:alt: The microorganisms that came out of Subglacial Lake Whillans were “incredibly diverse,” and the microbial cells came in a variety of shapes. The yellow arrow in this image points to a rod-shaped cell as seen through a scanning electron microscope. . og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists find life beneath Antarctic ice twitter:description: A subglacial lake 800 meters beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet has been discovered to have "viable microbial ecosystems." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e8f53c2dae8e9af/6986a066cd6848b684096267/christner_fig2c-highres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Check Out the Freezing Cold Place Where Scientists Found Life > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 21, 2014 6:36 PM UTC  The microorganisms that came out of Subglacial Lake Whillans were “incredibly diverse,” and the microbial cells came in a variety of shapes. The yellow arrow in this image points to a rod-shaped cell as seen through a scanning electron microscope. . The microorganisms that came out of Subglacial Lake Whillans were “incredibly diverse,” and the microbial cells came in a variety of shapes. The yellow arrow in this image points to a rod-shaped cell as seen through a scanning electron microscope. . Montana State University/WISSARD by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 21, 2014 6:36 PM UTC A subglacial lake 800 meters beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet has been discovered to contain “viable microbial ecosystems,” according to the [National Science Foundation](http://www.nsf.gov/news/news%5Fsumm.jsp?cntn%5Fid=132267), which funded the project. The findings are the result of a 2013 drilling expedition in which researchers used a sterile, hot water drill to reach and collect samples from Lake Whillans, in the west part of the continent. Researchers for project Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) found organisms that feed off of rocks for energy and use Carbon Dioxide as a carbon source in water and sediment samples from the lake. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3154299/check-out-the-freezing-cold-place-where-scientists-found-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3154299/check-out-the-freezing-cold-place-where-scientists-found-life/"},"headline":"Check Out the Freezing Cold Place Where Scientists Found Life","datePublished":"2014-08-21T18:36:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:47:42.479Z","description":"There are close to 4,000 organisms living in the lake, which hasn’t seen sunlight for millions of years","url":"https://time.com/3154299/check-out-the-freezing-cold-place-where-scientists-found-life/","keywords":["Environment","Life","Science topic","ICE","antarctica","microbes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e8f53c2dae8e9af/6986a066cd6848b684096267/christner_fig2c-highres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e8f53c2dae8e9af/6986a066cd6848b684096267/christner_fig2c-highres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The microorganisms that came out of Subglacial Lake Whillans were “incredibly diverse,” and the microbial cells came in a variety of shapes. 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