Weird Fishes Like It When the Earth Blows Off Some Steam

As you may have heard (unless you are living in an underwater habitat), a team of British marine geochemists have discovered the world's deepest known hydrothermal venting system, once again reminding us that while there's been so much talk lately about things like global warming , and killing oil pipelines to salvage prairie land, ecosystems still exist on Earth that we have barely even begun to understand let alone try to destroy.

The Beebe Vent Field, as it's been named by a team of researchers led by Dr. Doug Connelly from the National Oceanography Centre, is located off the Cayman Islands and consists of a series of "Black Smokers." They're sort of like the chimneys of the sea, caused by rifts in the earth's crust deep in the ocean floor, except these hydrothermal venting chimneys spew out mineral rich water that at 450 degrees celsius could incinerate your face from a mile away. As these underwater volcanic vents spew out minerals such as sulfur and copper they build up deposits that form large, black, smoking columns. As humans, we can only measure these plumes from afar by measuring indirect water temperature, pressure, and through the eyes of robot submarines, like the Autosub6000 and HyBIS.

"Finding black smoker vents on Mount Dent was a complete surprise," Connelly said. "Hot and acidic vents have never been seen in an area like this before." This was not a reference to the present political race, but strictly to sea vents.

Even here, to paraphrase the scientifically dubious Michael Crichton, life finds a way. These deep sea vents are hosts to a vast array of inhabitants, including tube worms, giant clams, and now, as of this recent discovery, eyeless shrimp with light sensors on their backs. They've been named Rimicaris hybisae, after HyBIS, the robotic submarine sent to collect them. Yes, you read that correctly. They are named after a robot.

The discovery isn't simply another notch on the ecological totem pole, says Connelly, but a step toward decoding the mysteries of deep ocean habitation. "These vents may be one of the few places on the planet where we can study reactions between rocks and 'supercritical' fluids at extreme temperatures and pressures." And they open up the possibility that there are many more deep sea vents than previously thought, and with them many more unusual creatures.