It is a good thing to have an oasis, but this “oasis” on the glacier will “run”, which makes people suspicious. After all, there are very few creatures willing to survive in that cold world. What’s more, scientists all believe that cold glaciers have very little footprints of life. Is it possible that the moss ball on this glacier is different?
In fact, people have long discovered moss balls on glaciers. In 1950, an Icelandic glacier researcher not only described it in a glaciology journal, but also gave the little moss balls a cute name: glacier mouse. Only a few decades later, the moss ball has not attracted people’s special attention.
It was not until 2006 that a scientist working in Alaska discovered a magical sight while hiking on the glacier: green furry “little mice” crawled everywhere! They are not attached to the surface of any rock, just stay on the ice, appearing abrupt and beautiful in the white world of ice and snow. They all seem to rest on the ground or fall asleep. “Frightened” scientists are both scared and confused: How can there be so many “little mice” on the glacier? And the color is still green? He courageously approached, only to find that the masses were not rats, but mosses growing into balls. He breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out his hand, squeezed, and smiled. Hey, soft, it’s really not a mouse.
Moss is a very common plant, but it gathers on glaciers on such a large scale, and it is still spherical moss, which arouses the desire of scientists to explore. Researchers tracked 30 moss balls in Alaska for 54 days in 2009, and then returned to check in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and found that they had survived for at least 5-6 years.
In addition, the researchers also speculated that these moss may only grow on a small rock or a small mud at first. As the snow melts, under the blow of strong wind, they begin to roll, forming an oval mass, and the more Roll bigger. After a period of “rolling and crawling”, the moss “grew up” and became as big as a slap. At this time, they have entered a stable state, and they seem to be no longer moving. In fact, after years of tracking, researchers found that the moss ball that seemed to be lying quietly in the sun was still moving, but the speed was rather slow. You know, it must roll! Because all surfaces of the moss ball should be exposed to the sun, otherwise the moss at the bottom will die. All parts can grow, and eventually it becomes a mass of green. In order to survive, the moss ball moves in a coordinated and well-designed formation. The entire group moves at the same speed and direction, just like an “oasis” “running” on the glacier.
What is puzzling is that these “oasis” move in a rather weird direction. During the observation, it was found that at first they moved slowly to the south, after a period of time they began to accelerate and drift westward, and then slowed down and continued to move westward. Although researchers have put forward many hypotheses in order to find the truth, such as going downhill and moving in the same direction, wind blowing in the same direction, or sunlight, these have been overturned one by one in the actual research process, and no one can explain the moss ball. The direction and speed of advancement. It can only be said that there is an unknown force guiding where the moss ball on the glacier goes. Also, moss balls are not willing to survive on any glacier, they only appear under suitable conditions.
Why the moss balls on the glacier “run” in groups is still a mystery. But we believe that the moss balls that survive in the cold and barren glacial world are definitely not for cuteness, they are oasis of life.
