Antarctica may seem lifeless but life always finds a way. Although Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet and has extreme environmental conditions, there are snow-free areas and these areas have soils. Not very good soils from the point of growing things mind you but the more moist soils from the Antarctic coast actually contain a large number of bacteria. Even the dry inland soils contain bacteria in smaller numbers.
In fact a whole range of common bacteria are found in Antarctica, including Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Streptococcus, Neisseria, and Pseudomonas.
All types of aquatic environments in Antarctica contain cyanobacteria. The Dry Valleys have been found to have Arthrobacter species, as well as Brevibacterium and Corynebacterium, and Leptolyngbya frigida is frequently found in soils.
Microbiologist Pabulo Rampolotto says that ‘polar regions also possess unusual microbiotopes such as the porous rocks in Antarctic Dry Valleys hosting microbial communities that survive at −60 °C, the liquid brine veins between sea ice crystals harbor metabolically active microorganisms at −20 °C, and permafrost cryopegs, i.e., salty water pockets that have remained liquid at −10 °C for about 100,000 years.
Not only that but scientists discovered a lake 20 metres below the icy surface in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This lake, Lake Vida, contains no oxygen, has the highest nitrous oxide levels of any natural body of water on Earth, is mostly frozen, with a briny liquid circulating through it that is 6 times saltier than seawater. And yet, this brine contains bacteria in a microbial community. This microbial community has not seen the sun for more than 3000 years.
Findings like this give us hope for finding life in similar environments on other planets.