There are areas where the ground is exposed but its arid and cold so all the bacteria have died.
I saw a show where they augered thru the icecap several thousand feet down.
At the bottom they hit dirt/mud.
The samples were to be analyzed for bacteria and nutrients.
Yep at one time it was probably plush with life.
245M years ago it was farther North and the temps were way warmer.
I thought it was cool enough that that dirt was untouched for millions of years and those scientists were the first to see it.
Never saw the follow up for the soil results.
I missed my chance to work there about 15 years ago on a NSF project.
