Newly discovered deadly pool under the sea kills anything that swims into it
New discoveries about extreme habitats could help us solve three mysteries with one stone — providing new insights into how Earth’s oceans formed, uncovering the secrets of extraterrestrial life, and uncovering potential cancer-fighting compounds.
This is all thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Miami, who have discovered a large saltwater deep-sea pool in the Red Sea that quickly kills or incapacitates anything that gets into it, according to a preliminary report by Live Science.
Life does exist on the periphery of this aquatic death trap; However, any unfortunate animals that burrow beneath the surface do not survive and are instead pickled. However, these rare saltwater pools could hold clues about thousands of years of climate change in the region and could even shed light on the origins of life on Earth, a study published in the journal says. Communication of Earth Nature and Environment show.
Uncovering a deep sea saltwater pool
In case you didn’t know, a saltwater pool is a very salty lake that forms at the bottom of the ocean. They are one of the most extreme environments on our planet due to the fact that they lack oxygen and have a lethal level of salt. They are also known for their extrophilous microbes, which could explain how life began on Earth and how life evolved in a water-rich world.
Deep-sea saltwater pools are only known to exist in three bodies of water: the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. It is estimated that all deep-sea pools in the Red Sea are located at least 15.5 miles (25 km) offshore; However, this research has changed that, with scientists discovering the first pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, the northern enclave of the Red Sea. Here, the salt lake is within 1.25 miles (2 km) of the coast.
Scientists discovered a saltwater pool 1.1 miles (1.77 km) below the surface of the Red Sea during a 2020 expedition aboard the ocean-exploration organization OceanX’s research vessel, OceanXplorer, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. The new saltwater pool is named NEOM.
“At these very deep depths, there isn’t usually a lot of life on the ocean floor,” lead author Sam Purkis, a professor and chair of the Department of Marine Science at the University of Miami, explained to Live Science. “However, saltwater pools are rich oases of life. The thick carpet of microbes supports a wide variety of animals.”
Understanding life on Earth
Due to its proximity to the coast, these ponds may receive runoff from land, which would mix terrestrial materials into their chemical makeup. As a result, they have the potential to serve as archives of tsunamis, floods, and earthquakes for thousands of years.
Purkis noted that core samples taken from the newly discovered saltwater pool provide “an unbroken record of past rainfall in the region, spanning over 1,000 years, plus records of earthquakes and tsunamis.” And, according to the team’s findings, massive flooding due to heavy rain “occurs about once every 25 years, and tsunamis [take place] about once every 100 years”, which could change the perspective of the massive infrastructure projects currently being built on the region’s coastline.
The implications of this discovery do not stop there, as ponds can also lead to microbial discoveries that can aid in the development of new drugs and treatments. For example, deep-sea microorganisms living in saltwater pools have previously produced molecules with antibacterial and anticancer effects. And, on a cosmic scale, saltwater pools can also help us uncover the secrets of extraterrestrial life.
“Our current understanding is that life originated on Earth in the deep ocean, almost certainly in anoxic conditions – without oxygen -,” explains Purkis. “Deep-sea saltwater pools are great analogues for early Earth and, even without oxygen and hypersaline, are full of rich communities of so-called ‘extremophilic’ microbes. By studying these communities, you can get a glimpse of the type of microbe. the conditions under which life first appeared on our planet, and may guide the search for life in other ‘water worlds’ in our solar system and beyond.”
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