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yesterday

Record-Depth Chemosynthetic Ecosystems Revealed in Pacific Hadal Trenches

The Nature-published research shows tube worms and clams harvest energy from hydrogen sulfide seepage at 9,533 meters.

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Image
A dense aggregation of mollusks called vesicomyid bivalves is seen in the seabed sediment of a deep ocean trench at a depth of 5,743 meters (18,800 feet) below the sea surface at a site called Clam Bed in the northwest Pacific Ocean, in this undated image. Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, CAS (IDSSE, CAS)/Handout via REUTERS.
Clusters of tube worms called "frenulate siboglinids", extending red hemoglobin-filled tentacles with small mollusks on the tops of the tubes near the tentacles, are seen at a depth of 9,320 meters (30,500 feet) beneath the sea surface at a site called Wintersweet Valley in the northwest Pacific Ocean, in this undated image. Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, CAS (IDSSE, CAS)/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • Researchers completed 24 dives in the Fendouzhe submersible across 2,500 km of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches between July and August 2024 to probe hadal habitats
  • They documented thriving chemosynthetic communities dominated by marine tube worms and bivalve molluscs at depths down to 9,533 meters, extending known depth limits by 25 percent
  • These ecosystems are powered by hydrogen sulfide-rich and methane-rich fluids seeping from the seafloor rather than sunlight-driven photosynthesis
  • The discovery overturns long-held assumptions about biological viability under extreme pressure and suggests similar communities may be widespread in other deep trenches
  • Scientists warn that burgeoning deep-sea mining interests could imperil these fragile carbon-cycling ecosystems and urge new conservation measures