The deep sea is the last unexplored area on Earth. Over time, this mysterious ecosystem within has held answers to some of science’s most important questions. A new wave of technologies is fueling exploration that will help us write the story of Earth’s final frontier.
Life began on Earth regarding four billion years ago, but the place where life began in these simple cells and how this happened is still a puzzle, and we have more evidence indicating that it may have appeared for the first time in the depths of the ocean.
In 2017, paleontologists identified microscopic tubes and threads made of iron-rich hematite inside rocks formed 3.77 to 4.28 billion years ago. new shell). These tiny formations have the characteristic shape of the microbes that currently live in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, the underwater hot springs that form at the edges of tectonic plates.
The fossil discovery supports a theory put forward in the 1990s by chemist Dr. Michael Russell of NASA, his idea is that the molds of living cells were provided by minute rocky pores within the orifices of hydrothermal vents. It was necessary to have a specific set of conditions for this to happen, especially since the temperature would not have been very high, otherwise the first images of life would have burned immediately, and the fluids flowing through these openings were required to be alkaline to create the conditions that generate energy in most cells Currently live.
Most of the vents known as black smokestacks are hot and sour, but a surprisingly rare formation in the Atlantic called the Lost City provides just the right set of conditions.
Moreover, it is believed that white smokers like this were more common on Earth in its early stages, and from laboratories far from the cliff we get more clues that this might be where life began.
In California, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, astronauts Dr. Laurie Barge and Erica Flores on growing small hydrothermal vents have succeeded in generating amino acids, an important building block for life. Meanwhile, at University College London, Professor Nick Lane’s team built a reactor to simulate the conditions of an alkaline hydrothermal vent, similar to the Lost City. They combined a mixture of fatty acids and fatty alcohols that spontaneously formed a membrane surrounding a drop of liquid; This is a basic protocell.
The theory of life originating in hydrothermal vents raises an exciting possibility, which is that life might begin elsewhere in the solar system in a similar way, as scientists believe that there are hydrothermal vents on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and in the giant salty ocean that lies under the crust. Icy on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
NASA’s Clipper mission may detect signs of a habitable ocean when it reaches Jupiter’s orbit and oscillates near its icy moon in 2030.
Unlike most hydrothermal vents, the Lost City vents in the mid-Atlantic are alkaline, and life on Earth may have first originated around these “white smokers”.
How many undiscovered creatures live in the depths?
One thing is for sure, scientists will not stop discovering new species in the deep sea at any time. A recent three-year study in the Pacific Ocean photographed vehicles operating from a distance of nearly 350,000 animals, fish, octopuses, corals, anemones, shrimp, squid, sponges and mud balls. Carved living creatures called xenophophors, the list goes on, only one in five species was a known species, not all of the pictures were clear enough to identify them, but most of them were living things that no one had seen before.
When scientists look into the depths of the ocean, they are pretty much guaranteed to find something new and unexpected, says Professor Randy Rutjan of Boston University, who has just returned from leading a month-long expedition to the Phoenix archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A wonderful adventure.” Her expedition aboard the Schmidt Institute Oceanographic Institution’s RVI Falcor involved studying seamount ecosystems using a remotely operated SuBastian ROV. The team made 21 dives and recorded 250 hours underwater during which they collected samples and recorded high-resolution videos of corals, sponges and complex life forms. other.
Standard techniques for studying deep-sea species include a combination of visual identification and sample collection for detailed analysis. Environmental DNA (eDNA), which searches for cells containing the DNA and mucus secreted by organisms in large samples of water, has become a faster and less expensive way to find out which species live in the area being explored.
Archives of the genetic sequences of deep-sea species are gradually being built, and one day, it will be possible to tell whether a giant hot dog, a Greenland shark, or any other mysterious deep-sea creature has swam and hidden out of sight, from a DNA fingerprint. which he left behind.
When Rotjan’s team finishes analyzing their findings, they will undoubtedly add new entries to the Global Deep Sea Species Register, which listed 26,599 species in mid-2021, a number that is constantly increasing. “It’s not just a catalog of what’s there, but why it’s there, what it interacts with and what it does,” says Rotjan.
One aspect of deep sea ecology that Rotjan is studying is the immune system of corals, which can live for thousands of years. She wants to understand how they recover from attacks by coral-eating predators. This might provide new insights into how innate immunity evolved among some of the oldest animals. It is multicellular on Earth, and it might have applications in medicine, because we share ancient ancestors with corals.
Expeditions such as Rotjan’s have great potential to spark audiences’ interest in the ocean depths, with footage of deep-diving whale sharks and a pair of adorable glass octopuses garnering an overwhelming response online. For Rotjan, these glimpses of deep-sea ecosystems are a crucial reminder that we share this world with many living forms that we don’t know. “What we, as the protectors of this planet, should really do is protect our neighbours,” she says.
Source: Madar Magazine
A series of articles published in coordination with Scientific Advances Publishing.
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* Dr. Helen Skills