![]() ![]() I think it's been quite a journey being able to use the scientific platform to further our knowledge of the oceans and to excite the public too. A lot of the work that we did was with Orla and her team at Blue Planet II, like when we did the first 1,000 meter submersible dive in Antarctica. We used our platform at Alucia with two manned submersibles, helicopter operations, wet labs and dry labs to conduct really groundbreaking science. We undertook an expedition with NHK and Discovery to go film a giant squid for the first time. I was very much involved with the work Alucia was doing. We actually acquired it in 2012, while I was working at National Geographic. Mark Dalio: Alucia has been around for quite some time. ![]() It's the home base for filming Blue Planet II and the home of so much technological wizardry. RELATED ARTICLE: Mysterious Sleeper Shark Surfaces in the Caribbean, Stuns ExpertsĬheck out more news and information on Ocean in Science Times.Tell us a bit about the Alucia- the 56-meter research and exploration vessel built to broaden the scientific understanding of the ocean. The salt layer was broken into large layers that extended underground during the rift. When the region rifted, it reopened the ocean connection, stretched the Gulf, and dramatically deepened the basin. ![]() It exists inside the ocean due to the significant density of its salty water compared to the water surrounding it.ĭuring the middle Jurassic period, what we know as the Gulf was only a shallow sea that became cut off from the rest of the ocean and dried out, producing a layer of salt and seawater derived from minerals up to eight kilometers thick. Brine pools are small lakes on the seafloor exhibiting distinct surfaces and shorelines. Their formation and the reason behind their unique salinity is a long and winding evolution. What are Brine Pools, and Why are they Extremely Salty?Īccording to NOAA, Brine pools can be considered lakes within oceans. It can be applied to the search for life elsewhere.ĪLSO READ: Large Hydrothermal Vent Field That Plays Vital Role in Ocean Ecosystems Discovered on East Pacific Ocean Seafloor Stating the discovery of a rich community of microbes surviving in such extreme environments has the potential to trace the limits of life on the planet. Purkis adds that until experts understand the limits of life on the planet, it will be challenging to determine if other planets in the universe can host other living beings. Sam Purkis, the first author of the study and a professor and chair of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami, says that the team was fortunate with the discovery coming in at the last five minutes of the 10-hour ROV dive, reports UpStream.ĭespite the death pools' extreme salinity and total lack of oxygen, it was teeming with "extremophile microbes" that yielded bioactive molecules with possible therapeutic benefits, including antibacterial and anticancer properties. In the video, the brine pools lie roughly 1770 meters below the sea surface, measuring approximately 10,000 square meters in area with three smaller pools of less than ten square meters. The underwater vessel carries a pair of Triton submersible vehicles that can reach depths of 1000 meters and an Arus ROV that can operate in depths up to 6,000 meters. The team of UM researchers is part of the OceanX expedition, which has conducted scientific work in the Red Sea using OceaneXplorer marine research vessels. The only bodies of water recorded to host death pools that range in size from a few meters to a few square kilometers are the Gulf of Mexico, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers note in the study published in the journal Nature Communications, titled "Discovery of the deep-sea NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea," that the conditions create one of the most extreme environments on the planet, which may offer clues to how life first appeared on the planet. Underwater death pools or deep-sea brine pools are extremely salty water accumulating in seabed depressions. University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences researchers used a remotely operated vehicle and discovered rare underwater death pools in the Gulf of Aqaba.
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