Around the hydrothermal vents located on the ocean floor, there is life. Researchers have now revealed that this life exists not only around these vents but also beneath them. In fact, they have discovered giant worms located under the oceanic crust.
Hundreds of meters below the ocean’s surface, hydrothermal vents attract life. Shrimp, crabs, worms, and even mussels have already been observed there, feeding on the nutrients produced by the mixing of seawater with magma. Science also knows that many microbes live at the heart of these hydrothermal vents, beneath the surface of the ocean floor. Recently, researchers aboard the research vessel Falkor (too) from the Schmidt Ocean Institute (United States) made a discovery that left them astonished. They had already mentioned their unexpected discovery a few months ago, and it has now been confirmed. In the journal Nature Communications, they explain why they sent the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian to a depth of 2,500 meters. Their goal was to explore the East Pacific Rise, a particularly active volcanic ridge. Why? To collect samples of the rock that constitutes the hydrothermal chimney. They hoped to find larvae of tubeworms in these samples, aiming to better understand how these creatures establish themselves in seemingly hostile environments (without sunlight and under crushing pressure).
Cavities Beneath the Ocean Crust Filled with Life
The robot encountered difficulties breaking the hydrothermal chimney into smaller pieces. However, beneath the plates of oceanic crust it lifted, researchers discovered cavities about ten centimeters deep filled with hydrothermal fluid, bringing the internal temperature to a comfortable 25 °C. So far, nothing too surprising, as geologists were already aware of their existence.
What caught the researchers off guard, however, was when they looked closer. The images sent back by their remotely operated vehicle revealed an entire population that no one would have imagined finding there. Snails and mussels were present, as well as giant tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila), also known as giant beard worms. This species can reach lengths of up to three meters.
The Importance of Protecting the Seabed, of Which We Know Too Little
What is astonishing is not the discovery of life forms beneath the Earth’s surface. Biologists know that as much as 70% of all microbes on our planet likely hide beneath the Earth’s crust. However, they had never imagined observing such complex ecosystems beneath the seafloor until now.
But how did these animals end up there? Researchers suggest that larvae living on the ocean floor (the very ones they set out to study) could move into the subsoil through the fluids of the hydrothermal vents. Thus, the ecosystems of the ocean, the seabed, and the oceanic subsoil are deeply interconnected in a dynamic relationship.
Source: futura
