Scientists believe that they were able to make one of the greatest discoveries during the study of the seabed.
Scientists have announced the discovery of an amazing new ecosystem in volcanic caves off the coast of Central America. This was reported by IFLScience.
In particular, the discovery was made during the expedition of the research vessel of the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) Falkor. In total, it took 30 days to complete the expedition and made one of the greatest discoveries in 46 years of exploring hydrothermal vents.
According to SOI Executive Director Dr. Jothika Virmani, in the East Pacific Highlands, an underwater robot was able to turn over sections of volcanic crust to reveal a new ecosystem for science, full of worms, snails and chemosynthetic bacteria, which appear to have evolved in despite the fact that it lives in water at 25°C.
This is the first time life has been found beneath hydrothermal vents – hot volcanic springs found along the seabed. The team also found evidence that surface species such as tubeworms can travel underwater from the surface using fluid from springs, allowing them to expand their range.
It has been noted that new hydrothermal vents can appear when, due to tectonic activity, the plates of the earth’s crust crack and move. These cracks fill with seawater, which heats up under the magma’s action, causing it to rise back up onto the seabed.
Researchers have long understood how new hydrothermal vents form, but how quickly the ecosystems that inhabit them emerge remains unclear. One of the main animals of these ecosystems are tubeworms, but they rarely see their young generations on top of hydrothermal vents.
Researchers now know that tubeworms can also travel below the surface of hydrothermal vents, which explains to some extent how they navigate new habitats.
According to the leader of the expedition, Dr. Monica Bright of the University of Vienna, she and her colleagues used the underwater work of the SuBastian ROV to collect some of the animals that live below the surface. Scientists analyzed the findings and came to the conclusion that there are two dynamic habitats of the vent at the same time – animals living above and below it.
It was previously reported that in the Ica Desert in southern Peru, researchers discovered the remains of a large, long-dead whale.
Source: korrespondent
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