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near the top of a seamount west of the mid-atlantic ridgeJagged towers loomed gloomily.
Its walls and columns are creamy carbonate. They appear ghostly blue in the lights of remote-controlled cars sent to scout.
They range from small piles in the shape of poisonous mushrooms to large boulders reaching heights of 60 meters (about 200 feet). This is the so-called “Lost City”, Explains a report from the Science Alert portal.
The “city” is located 20 kilometers west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, in the Atlantic Ocean, between America and Europe. It is characterized by extreme conditions never before seen in a marine environment: pH 9–11 ventilation, >90 °C, metal-poor fluids in carbonated buildings rising to 60 m above sea level.
Study this remarkable system It forever changed our view of where and how life thrives and survives under the sea And provide a new model for the development of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere.
this system The longest-lived of all known vent environments in the world’s oceans, The activity lasts at least 120,000 years. Research at the site was funded by the National Science Foundation and NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Program.
Within the Atlantis Massif, a 14,000-foot mountain where Ciudad Perdida sits, Reactions in ultrabasic rocks produce alkaline fluids containing high concentrations of hydrogen, methane and other hydrocarbons. Non-biologically produced low molecular weight.
common, These dissolved gases support new microbial communitiesSecond. The internal anaerobic zone of the chimney contained only a biofilm of one type of archaea, called “Lost City Methane CancerIt uses methane in its metabolism.
Bacteria associated with CH 4 and S oxidants Found mainly on the oxygen-containing outer walls of chimneysIn the UK, the chemical composition of the liquid is quite different from the chemical composition inside the chimney. As Washington described it, Among them is a scientific team studying the area.
Long, highly sculpted surface area of the Ciudad Perdida Formation Provide adequate space for wildlife habitat, Many of the recovered invertebrates were located within porous channels and fractures in carbonate rocks.
surprisingly, Although the area’s total biomass is low, the species diversity it supports appears to be as high as any known smoky system. At the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Spread.
The scope and complexity of the environment Harbor Peridotite and Other Ultrabasic Rocks The world’s oceans are vast, and “The Lost City” couldn’t possibly be unique.Perhaps the most profound impact of discovering this site was realizing that Life itself may have arisen in these dynamic environments where geological processes take placeChemistry and biology are closely related.
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