Volcanic vent may host new species

April 13, 2010|ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Scientists using a remote-controlled submarine have discovered the deepest known volcanic vent. They say the superheated waters inside could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps clues to the origin of life.

They found the vent more than 3 miles beneath the surface of the Caribbean in the Cayman Trough, a deep-sea canyon that served as the setting for James Cameron’s underwater thriller “The Abyss.’’

Geologist Bramley Murton, the submersible’s pilot, said exploring the area was “like wandering across the surface of another world,’’ complete with spires of multicolored mineral deposits and thick collections of fluorescent blue microorganisms.

Volcanic vents are areas where seawater seeps into cracks that penetrate deep into the earth’s crust — some reaching down more than a mile. Temperatures there can reach 750 degrees.

The blazing hot, mineral-rich fluid is expelled into the cold of the deep ocean, creating a smokelike effect and leaving towering chimneys of metal ore. The spectacular pressure — 500 times stronger than the earth’s atmosphere — keeps the water from boiling.

The environment may appear brutal: Intense heat and pressure combine with toxic metals to form a highly acidic cocktail. But the vents host lush colonies of exotic animals, such as blind shrimp, giant white crabs, and larg, red-lipped tubeworms, whose lack of any apparent digestive system once left scientists scratching their heads. At the base of this ecosystem are chemical-eating bacteria that draw on hydrogen sulfide and methane from the vents to make food.