At A Depth of More Than 9 Km In The Pacific Ocean Found A Flowering Ecosystem
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences with the help of the deep-sea apparatus “Fendouzhe” have discovered thriving communities of marine organisms at depths of up to 9.5 kilometers in the ocean troughs of the north-western part of the Pacific Ocean.
The ecosystem on the ocean floor exists due to chemosynthesis. It is a process of obtaining energy by living organisms by oxidizing inorganic chemical compounds instead of using sunlight. Unlike photosynthesis, chemosynthetic bacteria and archaea extract energy from hydrogen sulfide, methane, ammonia, or other chemicals. This process allows life to exist in extreme conditions – on the ocean floor, in hot springs and caves where there is no access to light.
Depth over 9 kilometers below the ocean surface for a long time were considered almost lifeless. Extreme pressure and complete darkness make the existence of living organisms almost impossible. However, a Chinese expedition using the Fendouzhe manned deep-sea vehicle refuted these ideas, finding an amazing diversity of life in the deepest parts of the planet.
The expedition recorded the presence of thousands of sea tube worms and bivalve mollusks at depths up to 9.5 km in the Kurilo-Kamchatsky and Western Aleutian veins. Researchers from the Institute of Deep-Eat Research and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted more than 2,500 kilometers of research, studying depressions at depths of 5.8 to 9.5 kilometers from July 8 to August 17, 2024. The results of this study were published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.
Before this expedition, the deepest vertebral life was recorded at a depth of 8.3 kilometers – it was a fish liparis photographed off the coast of Japan in 2023. The new discovery of Chinese scientists surpassed this record, demonstrating that life not only exists at such extreme depths, but also thrives there in abundance.
At a depth of 9 kilometers
The Fendouche underwater vehicle, capable of operating at depths over 10 kilometers for several hours in a row, allowed the researchers to directly observe these amazing ecosystems. Scientists describe what they see as “prosperous communities” organisms that form the real fields of marine life, where various species of tubular worms and mollusks dominate.
In absolute darkness and monstrous pressure, these organisms survive due to chemosynthesis – the process of obtaining energy from chemicals, not sunlight. Hydrogen and methane, seeping through cracks in the earth’s crust, serve as the basis for the life of these unique ecosystems. The researchers believe that the species have developed special mechanisms for adapting to extremely high pressure, making them biologically unique.
The discovery changes the notions of the limits of life on Earth and suggests that similar communities of organisms can be widespread in the deepest parts of the ocean. Scientists plan to continue research to understand the mechanisms that allow these “chemically nourished” organisms to convert chemicals into energy and adapt to ultra-high pressure conditions.
Co-author Dr. Megren Doo says: “Some people it may seem frightening, but I always advise my students to look at the seabed in the bitist scuffle. You will be inspired.”
Source: At A Depth of More Than 9 Km In The Pacific Ocean Found A Flowering Ecosystem
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