Guliya Glacier Archives

Drilling on the plateau of Guliya Glacier in western China, at 6,200 m ASL elevation. Credit: Lonnie Thompson.

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Viral Secrets From Glacial Ice Reveal Climate Adaptations

by Keith CowingSeptember 6, 2024September 6, 2024

Researchers at The Ohio State University have made a significant discovery in understanding how viruses preserved in glacial ice have adapted to Earth’s climatic changes.

Network clusters of viruses from this study (in green) and NCBI RefSeq database (light blue). Each node represents one viral genome/contig; the edge between nodes represents a significant relationship between the two connected viral genomes/contigs with the shorter length accounting for stronger connection strength. The details of viral clusters and statistical results are provided in Supplementary Data 3. -- Nature Geoscience

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Locked In A Glacier, Viruses Adapted To Survive Extreme Weather

by Keith CowingAugust 27, 2024August 27, 2024

For decades, the Guliya Glacier, located above 20,000 feet in the far northwestern Tibetan Plateau, has been one of the richest archives available to scientists to investigate large-scale paleoclimate shifts. […]