It might be surprising to us to find out that there are actually balls of moss on glaciers, as we consider glacial areas to be too cold for any kind of life. However, scientists have discovered that there are indeed balls of dust and moss that they are calling ‘glacier mice’ and these ‘mice’ contain life.

It is surmised that the moss and dust that actually creates the glacier mice occur in the same manner as the ‘dust bunnies’ under our beds. The wind moves these components and they eventually clump together. There is a sufficient amount of water in ice molecules to assist in supporting life, however, the surprising discovery that the ‘glacial mice’ actually have miniatures ecosystems, pretty much shocked the scientific world.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/science/earth/glacier-mice-offer-a-micro-habitat.html?src=me&ref=science

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