Despite all of our centuries of exploring, the world retains many mysteries. And if space is the next great frontier, I say oceans are the second – they’re so deep, and so vast, that there’s probably no way we’ll ever be able to accurately map them.
Also, they’re literally always changing, so a map you make today will be all but useless in a few years – just as treasure hunters!
Which is why I’m not surprised to learn that there’s a deadly lake lurking far beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. I mean, why not?
Erik Cordes, an associate professor of biology at Temple University, researched the strange pool and published his findings in Oceanography.
“It was one of the most amazing things in the deep sea. You go down into the bottom of the ocean and you are looking at a lake or a river flowing. It feels like you are not on this world,” he told Discovery News.
The “lake” under the sea is about five times as salty as the surrounding water, and it also contains highly toxic concentrations of methane and hydrogen sulfide. The mixture is the reason the water stays naturally separate from the ocean around it.
It’s also the reason that anything other than bacteria, tube worms, and shrimp shrivel up and die if they wander too close.
Scientists use the extreme environment to test the hardiness of different organisms, says Cordes.
“There’s a lot of people looking at these extreme habitats on Earth as models for what we might discover when we go to other plants.”
It’s always about colonizing Mars, people – even when it’s deep under the oceans of earth.
Take a look at when some scientists went below to the Brine Pool. It’s pretty epic.
So, what do you think? Would you ever want to go down here and observe it firsthand? Or is the video enough?
Let us know in the comments! We love to hear from you!
