The scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) are currently conducting a research expedition in the Atacama Trench, where they have discovered Chile’s deepest and most northern cold seeps at a depth of 2,836 meters. In addition to this finding, they also encountered an unusual type of sea cucumber.
During their expedition in the Atacama Trench, which is an 8,000-meter-deep formation extending along Peru and Chile, the scientists identified these record-breaking cold seeps. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), cold seeps are areas where hydrocarbon-rich fluids like methane or hydrogen sulfide seep up from beneath the seafloor. These seeps, which become harder to locate at greater depths, were discovered by the team aboard the R/V Falkor (too) after over 12 hours of utilizing seafloor mapping data.
The microbes that live on these seeps have amazing strategies for producing food without sunlight
At a depth of 2,836 meters, these seeps provide chemical energy for deep-sea animals that live without sunlight, offering insights into how such conditions may have led to the development of life on Earth, the team stated in a press release on Tuesday (June 18).
“The microbes that live on these seeps have amazing strategies for producing food without sunlight,” said expedition lead Dr Lauren Seyler of Stockton University, in the statement. She added, “Here on Earth, life in the dark is alien in its own right and provides critical information for understanding how organisms persist under the most extreme conditions.”
Seyler noted that we have yet to determine how life began on Earth, and environments like these “might offer clues about the spark that ignited all the biodiversity on our beautiful planet.”
The researchers stated that visual evidence “strongly suggests” that the seeps found are methane seeps, which are chemosynthetic ecosystems where naturally occurring gas bubbles emerge from seafloor fissures. They observed that the methane on the seafloor not only supplies energy for bacteria but also serves as a food source for animals such as clams, squat lobsters, and tube worms. During their expedition, the team collected 70 specimens and even spotted a sea pig, one of the world’s strangest deep-sea cucumbers, snuffling along the seafloor. The sea pig may have earned its name due to its pink-coloured body and affinity for the muddy seafloor, as it is known for sifting out organic morsels to feed on.