Why Fish Don’t Freeze to Death in Icy Water
Fish can survive even in subzero environments, such as under ice floes. Researchers have hypothesized that when glycoproteins contained in fish blood are absorbed on the surface of ice crystals, it curbs the growth of ice crystals. Verifying the functions of these glycoproteins requires precise measurements of the normal growth rates of crystals over time. Yet this is difficult to do so on the Earth because of the natural convective flow around the growing crystal induced by gravity.
(Left) A snapshot of a video of ice crystal growth. The striped patterns in the center show the bottom basal faces. These patterns are interference fringes produced by light reflecting off the basal face. The speed at which these move was used to calculate how fast the bottom basal face was growing. (Right) An illustration showing the three-dimensional geometry of the ice crystal.
Credit: Furukawa Y. et al., Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water, Scientific Reports, March 6, 2017.
To carry out the experiments on the ISS, Hokkaido University’s Institute of Low Temperature Science and JAXA jointly developed Ice Crystal Cell 2, a device for measuring the speed of ice crystal growth in space. Once installed in the Japanese experiment module KIBO, experiments were carried out by controlling the device using signals from the ground.
The researchers conducted 124 experiments of which 22 were deemed to have accurately measured ice crystal growth rates in supercooled water containing a glycoprotein impurity. The results showed that the bottom basal faces of the ice crystals grew three to five times faster than in pure water. Ice crystals also exhibited periodic oscillations as they grew. “The results were contrary to what was expected, as the glycoprotein actually facilitated the growth of ice crystals, rather than curbing it,” says Ken Nagashima of the research team.
(Left) Japanese experiment module KIBO at the International Space Station. The experiments were conducted in its pressurized cabin from November 2013 to June 2014 (Photo provided by NASA). (Right) Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata with Ice Crystal Cell 2 during its installation.
Photo provided by NASA/JAXA
Naoki Namba
Citation: Furukawa Y. et al., Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water, Scientific Reports, March 6, 2017.
DOI:10.1038/srep43157
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/04/why-fish-dont-freeze-to-death-in-icy.html
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