Эрдэмтэд Атлантын далайн өмнө нь судлагдаагүй бүс нутгаас тунгалаг толгойтой загасыг байгалийн жамаар нь анх удаа дүрсэнд буулгаж, хоёр шинэ гидротермаль талбайг оллоо.
Монтерей Бэй Аквариумын Судалгааны Хүрээлэнгийн эрдэмтэн Аарон Микаллефээр удирдуулсан баг “Фалкор” хөлөг онгоцонд нэг сарын хугацаатай судалгаа хийжээ. Тэд “СуБастиан” алсын удирдлагатай хөлөг болон “Чилдлайк Эмпресс” бие даасан шумбагч төхөөрөмж ашиглан 60,000 хавтгай дөрвөлжин км талбай бүхий Долдрумс хагарал болон тектоникийн бүсэд судалгаа явуулсан байна. Энэхүү аяллын үр дүнд далайн 710 метрийн гүнээс Winteria telescopa хэмээх ховор төрлийн загасыг анх удаа амьд ахуйд нь дүрсжүүлжээ. Энэхүү загас нь шингэнээр дүүрсэн тунгалаг бүрхүүл дотор байрлах хоёр хоолой хэлбэрийн нүдтэй бөгөөд биеийн бүтэц нь маш эмзэг тул гадаргуу руу татах үед бүрхүүл нь нурдаг байна.
Судлаачид мөн далайн 4,000 орчим метрийн гүнээс өмнө нь бүртгэгдээгүй хоёр гидротермаль талбайг илрүүлсэн нь шинжлэх ухааны хувьд чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Эдгээр бүсэд далайн ус чулуулгийн эрдэс бодистой урвалд орж, халуун болон химийн энерги ялгаруулдаг серпентинизаци хэмээх процесс явагддаг аж. Энэхүү энерги нь нарны гэрэлгүй орчинд бичил биетэн болон бусад амьд организмууд оршин тогтнох боломжийг бүрдүүлдэг тул бусад гариг дээрх амьдралыг хайх судалгаанд чухал мэдээлэл өгч болзошгүй юм.
Тус бүс нутгаас 3,634 метрийн гүнд хоёр ширхэг Magnapinna төрлийн том сэлүүрт наймаалж илрүүлсэн нь судалгааны багийнхны хувьд гэнэтийн бэлэг байв. Судлаач Паула Сапата Рамирезийн тэмдэглэснээр, энэхүү аялал нь зөвхөн геологийн тогтоцыг судлаад зогсохгүй Атлантын далайн хамгийн бага судлагдсан бүс нутгийн экосистемийн талаарх ойлголтыг илүү гүнзгийрүүлсэн байна. Одоогийн байдлаар олдсон дээж болон дүрс бичлэгүүдэд нарийвчилсан шинжилгээ хийж байгаа бөгөөд эрдэм шинжилгээний тайлангууд нь ирээдүйд хэвлэгдэх юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A rare barreleye fish has been filmed in its natural habitat for the first time during a month-long expedition into one of the Atlantic Ocean’s least explored regions. At 710 meters below the surface, cameras captured Winteria telescopa, a transparent-headed deep-sea fish whose fragile anatomy has long made it difficult to study intact.
The encounter took place in the Doldrums Megatransform and Fracture Zone, a remote maze of tectonic fractures stretching across roughly 60,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles) of the Atlantic seafloor. Cutting through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, part of the world’s longest mountain chain, this region plunges thousands of meters into the abyssal zone and remains largely unexplored.
A team led by marine scientist Aaron Micallef of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute spent a month aboard the research vessel Falkor (too). Using the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian and the autonomous underwater vehicle The Childlike Empress, the scientists searched for vents, faults and seamounts. What they found also included two unknown hydrothermal fields and encounters with some rarely seen inhabitants of the deep.
A Fish With A Transparent Dome Finally Appears On Camera
The sighting of Winteria telescopa occurred 710 meters beneath the ocean surface, in the twilight depths where this fish live. According to the Schmidt Ocean Institute, this particular species had never before been filmed in its natural habitat. Its anatomy helps explain why such footage is valuable. Barreleye fish possess two tubular eyes fitted with light-sensitive lenses, enclosed within a transparent, fluid-filled dome covering the head. It is an extraordinarily delicate structure: when a fish is hauled from deep water, the dome collapses.
For years, scientists did not even know that this transparent covering existed. Seeing the animal alive at depth allows researchers to observe an anatomical feature that can be destroyed during collection.
“This discovery shows why exploration still matters,” Aaron Micallef said. “Even in the Atlantic Ocean, where plate boundaries have been studied for decades, there are still places where the first close look can reveal something entirely new.”
New Hydrothermal Fields Found Nearly 4,000 Meters Deep
The expedition’s discoveries extended far beyond the rare fish. Researchers located two previously unknown hydrothermal fields at a depth of nearly 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), where heat and chemicals from Earth’s interior enter the ocean.
Far beyond sunlight’s reach, such places can become oases of life. The two fields appear to be associated with serpentinization, a chemical reaction between seawater and the igneous mineral peridotite. This process produces hydrogen and other reduced chemicals that fuel microbial ecosystems in the deep sea. Only a handful of hydrothermal fields associated with serpentinization are known, among them the famous Lost City hydrothermal field. As Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, explained that:
“Serpentinization is a process in which seawater reacts with minerals in rocks, producing heat and chemical energy that allow life to thrive in the deep ocean without sunlight, so a better understanding of these systems could provide clues for finding life on other planets.”
The newly found vents were visibly alive. Cameras recorded swarming shrimp, ghostly crabs and delicate anemones, with heat shimmering through vents in the chimneys beneath them.
Two Bigfin Squid Emerge At 3,634 Meters
Another surprise waited much deeper. At exactly 3,634 meters, researchers encountered two bigfin squid belonging to the genus Magnapinna, among the eeriest animals observed during the expedition. The sightings added a biological dimension to a mission initially focused on the geological features of the Doldrums region. The scientists had arrived looking for vents, faults and seamounts, but left with images and samples documenting ecosystems in a part of the Atlantic that has received little direct exploration.
Scientific papers on the findings have yet to be published, and further details will take time to emerge. For now, the expedition has provided rare direct observations from a hidden landscape beneath the Atlantic.
“We arrived searching for vents, faults, and seamounts. We leave with something even more valuable: a deeper understanding of ecosystems in one of the least explored regions of the Atlantic Ocean,” said Paula Zapata Ramirez of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. “Every sample, every image, and every discovery brings us one step closer to understanding the hidden parts of our planet.”
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