These Robots Roam Toxic Seafloors to Bring Back New, Bizarre Species
Shannon Johnson uses robots to explore deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where science-fiction-worthy animals live in hot, acidic water and munch on bacteria that can survive in space. Experience...
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Hydrothermal vents are kind of like going to another planet. It's hot, and acidic, and there's big black plumes of chimneys coming out of the bottom of the ocean, that can be up to 50 meters tall. They're essentially underwater volcanoes. They can be beautiful and sparkly, or they can just look like melting old styrofoam. They're usually covered with these amazing, huge, beautiful animals that are just... nothing like you've ever seen before. In the deep sea, photosynthesis is impossible. Instead, this alien food chain is built off of chemosynthesis, where microbes metabolize harsh chemicals, and in turn are fed on, or used by, larger animals. Because there is no sunlight, everything is reliant on the chemicals coming out of the bottom...
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Hydrothermal vents are kind of like going to another planet. It's hot, and acidic, and there's big black plumes of chimneys coming out of the bottom of the ocean, that can be up to 50 meters tall. They're essentially underwater volcanoes. They can be beautiful and sparkly, or they can just look like melting old styrofoam. They're usually covered with these amazing, huge, beautiful animals that are just... nothing like you've ever seen before. In the deep sea, photosynthesis is impossible. Instead, this alien food chain is built off of chemosynthesis, where microbes metabolize harsh chemicals, and in turn are fed on, or used by, larger animals. Because there is no sunlight, everything is reliant on the chemicals coming out of the bottom...
