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Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Giant Deep Sea Volcano with "Moat of Death" Studied

"Beneath the waves of the South Pacific lies a volcanic realm nearly as strange as that featured in TV's hit drama Lost. But instead of a mysterious island, scientists have found a bubbling submarine volcano whose weird features include a swirling vortex, a host of strange animals, and a fearsome zone of toxic waters dubbed the Moat of Death. "

Here is an article about an amazing underwater habitat that is new. There are hundreds of eels living off of shrimp delivered to them by a swirling vortex. There is a toxic moat around this volcano comprised mostly of carbon dioxide and soot and there are worms living off of the dead carcasses of fish in this toxic area. This is unique as to this point, only microbes have been found to live in such an environment.

This finding can give scientists clues to how future changes in the ocean might occur if pollution infiltrates them. It also reminds me of Jupiter's moon Europa. Who knows what exotic life may be living under that thin layer of ice. Which in turn reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's books/movies 2001 and 2010. What if Jupiter were to become a sun...what life might be developing then on this fascinating moon? And how did Clarke know way back then that there was water to sustain life on Europa? Space fascinates me. I should have been an astronaut!

1 Comments:

At 7:48 PM, Blogger B O B said...

Melissa a great story and well written. One of my favorite science fiction writers is Robert A. Heinlein
I think you would really enjoy him. My favorite book was Job: A Comedy of Justice

But if you want a short book that is also good try The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. One of his most famous books that is also excellent is Stranger in a Strange Land.

The patent office uses him to often deny patents, because he put so much into common knowledge before the actual inventions ever happened. One notable one is the water bed which he described in detail.

 

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