Chinese scientists recently discovered an amazingly active and vibrant community of sea life, a whopping 6 miles (over 9,000 meters) deep underwater, in the Mariana Trench.
These animals are part of a chemosynthesis-based community, meaning there’s no photosynthesis at all, as sunlight can’t reach that far down.
Clams, tube worms, and other deep sea creatures.
Discovered in the Hadal zone of the Pacific, the communities of clams, mollusks, and worms are not only rare, they’ve almost never been documented.
Thanks to Striver, China’s deep sea submersible, scientists were able to clearly document and photograph these rarely viewed animals in their habitat at the bottom of the ocean.
Healthy clam communities
Nicknamed “cotton field”, the area is teeming with unique wildlife.
‘Thousands of worms and mollusks have been observed nearly 10 kilometers below sea level in the Mariana Trench, forming the deepest-known animal communities. These organisms rely on chemosynthesis, indicating that complex life may be more widespread in extreme ocean environments than previously understood.’
-Phys.org
This ecosystem is the deepest discovered on the planet.
This rarely explored part of the planet is giving scientists reasons to keep exploring.
Striver, the deep sea submersible that made the discovery. It was built in 2020.
The footage from the submersible shows unique, vibrant communities.
Read more about this fascinating discovery on Ecowatch:
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