How is the underwater ecosystem that lives under hydrothermal vents in Mesoamerica

he planet It has many layers that scientists analyze one by one. This time a group of researchers focused on what opens under the underwater volcanic crust, And it’s full Still life unknown

The animals that settled in the depths of the oceans are fascinating and full of mysteries that have not yet been clarified.

Recently, a multidisciplinary and international team of specialists prof Amazing new ecosystem After discovering in Volcanic caves in Central America. research vessel Falkor from Schmidt Institute of the Oceans (SOI) took 30 days to complete their expedition and shed light on one of the greatest discoveries in 46 years of studying Hydrothermal vents.

in East Pacific rise An underwater robot has turned over bits of volcanic crust to reveal a new ecosystem for science teeming with… Worms, snails, and chemically manufactured bacteria which seem to thrive despite living at 25°C underwater. This new scenario changes the way scientists look at hydrothermal vents, adding a whole new dimension to the ecosystems on and below their surface.

“On land, we’ve known about animals that live in subterranean caves for a long time, and in the ocean about other animals that live in sand and mud, but for the first time, scientists have looked beneath hydrothermal vents,” explained the CEO. Jyotica Firmani-. This truly remarkable discovery of a new ecosystem, hidden beneath another ecosystem, provides new evidence for life in amazing places.”

This is the First time This life is found under hydrothermal vents, namely Volcanic hot springs that are distributed along the sea floor.

The team also found evidence that surface-based species, such as tubeworms, can travel below the surface using vent fluid, which allows them to extend their circulation range. New hydrothermal vents can appear when tectonic activity causes plates to erupt Earth’s crust to shift and crack. These fissures are filled with seawater that is heated by magma and causes it to re-integrate into the sea floor.

“We have long understood how new hydrothermal vents appear,” Dogo Firmani said, “but what we didn’t fully understand was How do the ecosystems you live in emerge so quickly. One of the essential animals for these ecosystems is worm tube, But we rarely found their young on the surfaces of hydrothermal vents.

This fundamental new finding about how these worms migrate beneath the surface of hydrothermal vents explains it in some way How do they colonize new habitats? Scientists were able to come to their conclusions with the help of underwater robot Named ROV SuBastian, it placed boxes above cracks in the Earth’s crust and managed to collect some of the animals living below the surface.

“Our understanding of animal life in deep-sea hydrothermal vents has been greatly expanded by this discovery,” said the expedition leader. Monica Bright, affiliate University of Vienna-. There are dynamic vent habitats. The animals there, above and below the surface, breed together in unison, depending on the liquid below and the oxygen in the seawater from above.”

he Discover a new ecosystem It’s always exciting, but it’s also a new consideration in the ongoing debate over the safety of deep sea mining. Some argue that the sea floor is the path of least destruction when it comes to extracting the minerals needed to power the green battery revolution from the planet, but others warn that there is a long way to go before the potential damage from deep-sea drilling can be proven.

“The discoveries made on each Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition reinforce the urgent need to explore our entire ocean even further. Let’s find out what is in the depths of the sea said Wendy Schmidt, president and co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. The discovery of new creatures, landscapes, and now, a whole new ecosystem underscores how much we still have to discover about our surroundings, and How important it is to protect what we do not yet know or understandHe finished.

Read on