The presence of D. hansenii has been recorded in Antarctic soils (Atlas et al. 1978), overcooled brine cryopegs in permafrost (Gilichinsky et al. 2005), polar waters (Bridge et al. 2007), and ice from Antarctic glaciers (Di Menna 1966). Recently, D. hansenii was isolated from the subglacial ice of four glaciers from the coastal Arctic environment of Kongsfjorden, Spitzbergen, with counts reaching 104 CFU L1. It was present in high counts also in glacier meltwater (Butinar et al. data not published).