‘Lost City’ Deep In The Ocean Unlocks Secrets To Life And Our Solar System

An underwater city has opened the gates for scientists to discover more about our world and the planets in our galaxy through its ecosystem.

Discovered in 2000 by a team of researchers, ‘The Lost City’, as it is called, is a labyrinth primarily made up of tall, jagged formations that is home to anything from crustaceans to urchins.

The city’s hydrothermal field is apparently the longest-living ocean environment currently known. It rests a grand 2,300 feet beneath the surface of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; as such, this has been the only place where remotely-operated vehicles have been able to explore.

This is the Lost City, a towering ecosystem in the middle of the North Atlantic. It’s completely unique, with life found nowhere else on Earth. And if someone wanted to destroy it? There’s nothing you could do about it. No laws. No consequences. Welcome to the High Seas... pic.twitter.com/mdG5wOsr5h

— Open Ocean Exploration (@RebeccaRHelm) August 22, 2022

The towers are known to react with their surroundings and spew out hydrogen, methane, and other dissolved gases at temperatures that can reach 104°F. Within the crevices of the city, tiny microbial communities thrive without the presence of oxygen.

The gases created by the underwater metropolis are not the result of carbon dioxide and sunlight but instead are the product of chemical reactions that were formed on the seabed.

Microbiologist William Brazelton made a statement to the Smithsonian in 2018 that because of this finding, it has given researchers a peak into what life on Enceladus and Europa—Saturn and Jupiter’s moons respectively—would be like. In fact, this could even lead us to understand what life would be like on Mars.

A separate study speculates that the mix of elements could be where life originated from. 

However, scientists weren’t the only people drawn to further study the environment as, back in 2018, Poland won the right to mine the area for precious resources.

A call to action by experts has been made for the area to be preserved as a World Heritage Site as mining could destroy it from the eruption of gases that would be released by the monoliths.

[via Science Alert and The US Sun, Photo 16636991 © Mark Doherty | Dreamstime.com]