BIOME

DETAILED INFO

EX OF PLACE

ANIMALS THAT CAN BE FOUND THERE

PIC
.DOC

NS104@GMAIL.COM

SECTION_SURNAME_INITIAL
HR1A FERRANCO_PMO
Endolithic zone

An endolith is an organism (archaeum, bacterium, fungus, lichen, alga or amoeba)

that lives inside rock, coral, animal shells, or in the pores between mineral grains of a
rock. Many are extremophiles; living in places previously thought inhospitable to life.
They are of particular interest to astrobiologists, who theorize that endolithic
environments on Mars and other planets constitute potential refugia for extraterrestrial
microbial communities.

Endoliths have been found in rock down to a depth of 3 km (9,600 feet), though it is
unknown if that is their limit (due to the cost involved in digging so deeply).[2][3] The
main threat to their survival seems not to result from the pressure at such depth, but
from the increased temperature. Judging from hyperthermophile organisms, the
temperature limit is at about 120°C (the recently discovered Strain 121 can reproduce
at 121°C), which limits the possible depth to 4-4.5 km below the continental crust,
and 7 or 7.5 km below the ocean floor. Endolithic organisms have also been found in
surface rocks in regions of low humidity (hypolith) and low temperature
(psychrophile), including the Dry Valleys and permafrost of Antarctica[4] or the Alps
[5]
and the Rocky Mountains.[6][7]

archaeum, bacterium, fungus, lichen, alga or amoeba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endolith

http://flora.huji.ac.il/static/5/15/0030155.002.jpg

http://people.bu.edu/golubic/ooid-2c.GIF
Drift ice
Drift ice is ice that floats on the surface of the water in cold regions, as opposed to
fast ice, which is attached ("fastened") to a shore. Usually drift ice is carried along by
winds and sea currents, hence its name, "drift ice".

When the drift ice is driven together into a large single mass, it is called pack ice.
Wind and currents can pile up ice to form ridges three to four metres high, creating
obstacles difficult for powerful icebreakers to penetrate. Typically areas of pack ice
are identified by high percentage of surface coverage by ice: e.g., 80-100%.

Ice floes / Pack ice

An ice floe is a large piece of drift ice that might range from tens of metres (yards) to
several kilometres in diameter. Wider chunks of ice are called ice fields.

The two major ice packs are the Arctic ice pack and the Antarctic ice pack.

In many areas such as the Baltic, drift ice is traditionally a seasonal event, appearing
in winter and vanishing in warmer seasons.

Seasonal ice drift in the Sea of Okhotsk by the northern coast of Hokkaidō, Japan has
become a tourist attraction of this area with harsh climate.[1] The Sea of Okhotsk is the
southernmost area in the Northern hemisphere where drift ice may be observed.

Drift ice primarily affects:

• Security of navigation
• Climatic impact, see "Polar ice packs" for details
• Geological impact
• Biosphere influence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_ice

http://www.theorientalcaravan.com/images/Japan_2009_postcard/Eagle_drift_ice_JN
TO.jpg

http://www.tunliweb.no/Bilder_SM/_album_svalbard/a3.JPG
Cold seep
A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where
hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in
the form of a brine pool. Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic
species.

Cold seeps develop unique topography over time, where reactions between methane
and seawater create carbonate rock formations and reefs. These reactions may also be
dependent on bacterial activity. Ikaite, a hydrous calcium carbonate, can be associated
with oxidizing methane at cold seeps.

Cold seeps were discovered in 1983 by Dr. Charles Paull in the Gulf of Mexico at a
depth of 3,200 meters (10,499 ft). Since then, seeps have been discovered in other
parts of the world's oceans, including the Monterey Canyon just off Monterey Bay,
California, the Sea of Japan, off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in the Atlantic off of
Africa, in waters off the coast of Alaska, and under an ice shelf in Antarctica.[3] The
deepest seep community known is found in the Japan trench at a depth of 7,326 m
(24,035 ft).

mytilid mussels, clams, thyasirid clams