Texas A&M scientists discover oxygen-breathing life more than 200 feet below sea floor
The discovery of oxygen-breathing life more than 200 feet below the sea floor could open up new research possibilities in the ocean's greatest depths and beyond, according to one Texas A&M University researcher.
Carlos Alvarez-Zarikian, expedition project manager and staff scientist with the International Ocean Discovery Program at Texas A&M, was part of an international team that discovered microbial life exists throughout the space between the ancient igneous basement rock that forms the crust of continents. The revelation reverses a widely accepted belief that life can only exist within the top few meters of sediment below the ocean floor, which could help scientists understand more about how life can exist in the harshest conditions. Alvarez-Zarikian said he was surprised by the discovery.
"The surface water in this region, there is basically no bioproductivity," Alvarez-Zarikian said. "There is a lack of plankton, so the water is very clear. There is very little food in terms of organic carbon. We didn't expect to find much life there."
Alvarez-Zarikian said the research team of 35 scientists representing 12 countries used a prior expedition's findings that suggest life may exist deep below the ocean floor and set out to investigate the ocean's deadest areas for proof. The crew aboard the IODP's research ship JOIDES Resolution used more than 3 miles of pipe to plunge 12,000 feet under water and burrow down 220 feet into sea floor sediment at seven sites in the South Pacific.
Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-a-m-scientists-discover-oxygen-breathing-life-more-than/article_5780f717-f4b9-590e-a1d8-858fce007b8a.html
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
