Anonymous said..."how did you get it into a bottle if it was frozen when you collected it?"I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing he used his hand to pick up the ice chunks and place them in the jar.

"I brought back a bottle of glacial meltwater from Alaska. It was frozen when I collected it"The bottle would have had to have been left somewhere where the meltwater trickling into it would re-freeze and remain frozen when retrieved - presumably overnight and shaded from the dawn sun then.

If you let the melted water run into the bottle and then alow it to refreeze wouldn't this cause the bottle to break? Ever left a beer in the freezer only to have it explode? I think that what you are witnessing is the thawed remains of some caveman pubes.

The red-brown filaments look like algae; possibly belong to the Family Oscillatoriales in Division Cyanophyceae (Blue-green algae.)Algae in this family are variously coloured, ranging from deep emerald green to grey-green, red, pink, brown and even purple. As the Family name suggests, the filaments often display oscillating, gliding or trembling movements, and when kept in containers such as yours for a period of time, they may creep across the inner surface and form a thin 'skin'. Some species in this group are known to produce toxins that can be harmful to amimal and human health. Of course, identification cannot be confirmed without the aid of microscopy, but such organsims are known to be found worldwide including in polar regions and alpine regions. They are usually found growing at the bottom of shallow streams, on rocks and submerged logs and on other aquatic plants. Loose filaments are often dislogded from the colony and dispersed via flowing waters. Algae utilise a variety of 'techniques', such as cyst formation and periods of dormancy to survive extreme temperatures. The bright grassy-green sediment also contained in the jar is also algae, possibly belonging to the Division Chlorophyta (green algae)If it was my jar, I'd be keeping it on a window sill to see what happens over time - you have a fascinating little community busily growing in there. I'm sure if you examined a small specimen under a microscope, you would be amazed at the variety of life present in such a small volume.

there was probably a neanderthal hairdresser there thousands of years ago... This is an amazing discovery, you should go to the museum!!