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120,000-Year-Old Natural 'Lost City' In The Atlantic Ocean May Hold The Key to Understanding The Origin of Life

Towers deep within the Atlantic Ocean house a bustling marine ecosystem in harsh conditions.

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

5-foot-wide flange, or ledge, on the side of a chimney in the Lost City Field. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | National Science Foundation (University of Washington/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution))

Experts speculate that deep in the ocean could lie the secret behind the origin of life. The formations that could hold the key to this elusive mystery are near an underwater mountain in the Atlantic Ocean, according to My Modern Met. The structure is popularly known as "Lost City," which comprises several carbonate towers that come together to create a jagged landscape. Experts called it that because the clustered towers gave off an urban vibe and were around 2,300 feet below the surface. Moreover, the structure is the longest-living vented habitat discovered to date in the ocean. Since its discovery in 2000, nothing like this has been uncovered.

A carbonaceous formation at Lost city hydrothermal field taken in the Okeanos explorer expedition. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by NOAA)

It supposedly houses different kinds of snails and crustaceans, along with eels, shrimps, crabs, and sea urchins. Further observations suggest that the geological formation is above an underwater mountain in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The towers reportedly release hot alkaline fluids containing hydrogen gas into the nearby waters. As the name suggests, the formation looks like an abandoned city, but in reality, a variety of microscopic life is present in these spires. The beings living in these spires are thriving in some very hostile conditions. "Lost City" stands apart from other hydrothermal vents in the world because of the way it was formed.

Unlike others, it was not a consequence of volcanic activity but instead a result of interaction between seawater and rocks from the Earth's mantle. This interaction facilitates a process called serpentinization, which leads to the release of gas and energy. The process manufactures calcium-rich water, which then reacts with carbon elements in the seawater. The reaction ultimately creates the iconic towers. Susan Lang, a geochemist at the University of South Carolina, believes that "Lost City" exhibited conditions similar to what was in play when life began on Earth. The small pores in the tower, along with basic seawater and plentiful energy, provide suitable conditions for the beginning of life.

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Jeffrey Marlow, a microbiologist at Harvard University, further added that the high-pH water in the towers also provides the ideal conditions for the facilitation of life. By understanding how life functions in a hydrothermal vent field deep like the "Lost City," researchers can not only figure out how life began on Earth but also gain insights about life on extraterrestrial sites by further analysis. The inhospitable conditions, simple ingredients, and oxygen-free environment could be a near facsimile of the state of affairs on other planets. "This is an example of a type of ecosystem that could be active on Enceladus or Europa right this second (moons of Saturn and Jupiter)," William Brazelton, a microbiologist at the University of Utah, said.

Understanding how life operates here could give insights into how possible "aliens" in similar sites are surviving. Brazelton believes that the hydrogen gas, released from the carbonate towers, serves as the primary energy source for the microbes living in the "Lost City." Another energy source could be the methane released by these carbonate formations, which also supplies energy to certain life forms. Though researchers understand how these beings get their energy, they have yet to figure out how they garner their nutrients or carbon. Experts speculate that the carbon is introduced into this ecosystem by microbes within the mountain, which are then fed on by microbial life on the surface of the towers, also known as chimneys.

Small carbonate chimneys are growing in a location of active venting at the Lost City vent field. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Susan Lang, U. of SC. / NSF / ROV Jason / 2018 © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Brazelton went on an expedition to the site in 2018 to validate such claims and also find answers to other queries. "One of the questions we're trying to go after is, what are these microbes scrounging for?" Lang shared. "Life is always scrounging for something." The expedition started on September 8, 2018, and lasted until October 1 of the same year, according to Texas A&M. The team collected fluid samples from diffuse vents, material from actively diffusing sites, and specimens from the towers themselves. All this evidence will undergo extensive analysis to determine how beings respond to the changing conditions of the site as well as the geochemical and microbial properties of the hydrothermal vent. The results of this analysis are yet to be published.