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Photos: scientists find new species at world's deepest undersea vent Jeremy Hance mongabay.com January 10, 2012  New shrimp species crowd the world's deepest undersea vents. Photo by: University of Southampton/National Oceanography Center (NOC).
In April 2010 scientists used a deep-diving vehicle, HyBIS, and an unmanned robotic submarine, Autosub6000, to explore the vents, which are gushing fluids rich in copper and may be hotter than 450 degrees Celsius. "These vents may be one of the few places on the planet where we can study reactions between rocks and 'supercritical' fluids at extreme temperatures and pressures," said Doug Connelly with the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in a press release. Researchers also took samples and photos of a new species of deep sea shrimp, named Rimicaris hybisae, which lacks eyes, instead the shrimp have light-sensing organs on their backs, allowing them to "see" the glow of the vents. White-tentacled anemones were also found.
A new vent field was also discovered on the top slopes of a nearby undersea mountain, Mount Dent. This surprised researchers as undersea vents are not expected on mountainsides. "Hot and acidic vents have never been seen in an area like this before, and usually we don't even look for vents in places like this," said Connelly. The discovery of the new vents, named Von Damm Vent Field, may mean more deep sea vents could be found throughout the world on other submerged mountains. The Mount Dent vents sported the same shrimp species as the Beebe Vent Field, but scientists also found possibly new species of a serpentine fish, a snail, and an amphipod. Just last week researchers announced the discovery of numerous new species at the first exploration of deep sea vents in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, including a new species of ghostly, hairy crab, known as Yeti crabs. Although located in one of the most extreme environment on Earth, hydrothermal vents are facing a sudden and new threat: deep sea mining. Deep sea vents do not only harbor extremophiles (life surviving in extreme conditions), but are also rich in minerals deposits. Already Nautilus Minerals of Canada plans to be the first corporation to attempt mining deep sea hydrothermal vents off the coast of New Guinea in 2013, in this case for copper. "Interest in mining deep-sea hydrothermal vents is likely to increase. Indeed, the International Seabed Authority approved, in July this year, four new applications for exploration of polymetallic sulphides associated with hydrothermal vents. The applicants will restrict activity to inactive sites, which do not play host to typical, living vent communities, but much concern has been expressed about the potential for damage to sites in international waters in the absence of an agreed and effective conservation policy," Steven L. Chown with Stellenbosch University writes in a primer on the new discovery in the Southern Ocean.  Anemones at the world's deepest undersea vents. Photo by: University of Southampton/NOC.  New shrimp species and snake-like fish at the Von Damm Vent Field. Photo by: University of Southampton/NOC.  Lab photo of Rimicaris hybisae, the world's deepest known vent shrimp, from the Beebe Vent Field. Pale patch behind the head is its light-sensing organ. Photo by: University of Southampton/NOC.  Launching underwater robot Autosub6000, used to locate deep-sea vents. Photo by: University of Southampton/NOC.
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(01/03/2012) Scientists have discovered a deep sea ecosystem dominated by hairy pale crabs off of Antarctica. The new species of "Yeti crabs" survive alongside many other likely new species, including a seven-armed meat-eating starfish, off of hydrothermal vents, which spew heat and chemicals into the lightless, frigid waters. According to the paper published in PLoS ONE, this is the first discovery of a hydrothermal vent ecosystem in the Southern Ocean though many others have been recorded in warmer waters worldwide.
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