The area near continental coastline is rich with nutrients and oxygen which supplies
microbes with the food they need to flourish. However, the deep waters seem to be barren and are referred to as abyssal plains. Researcher Steven D'Hondt decided to analyze seafloor samples from these deep regions to determine their makeup. They drilled for 246 feet until they encountered the bedrock of the seafloor. This depth is astounding when you consider that it can take roughly 1 million years for only 3.3 feet of sediment to accumulate. The scientists were shocked to find microbes living all the way down the sediment column. A scientists from Aarhus University named Hans Roy even stated "maybe they never die" in reference to how slowly they breath and eat and how long they live.
This research is amazing and shows that life truly finds a way to live even in the most unlikely places, such as the bottom of the sea floor which was thought to be completely devoid of life. This really makes me hopeful for finding life outside of our own planet. If life can survive for countless years on the bottom of the ocean, why couldn't it thrive on other planets which we currently deem to be
inhospitable ?
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| Researchers aboard the JOIDES resolution, the research vessel used to study the core samples |
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