In 2009, NASA collected data that hinted of hydrothermal vents lining a submersed rocky ridge near the Grand Cayman Island. These vents eject incredibly hot water that is heated by volcanic activity near the surface of the ocean floor. In 2010, a UK funded expedition confirmed the existence of these hydrothermal vents and are located at a place called the Mid-Cayman Rise.
In August 2011, Paul Tyler of the University of Southhampton manned the vessel dubbed the Okeanos Explorer. Armed with wonder and a submersible robot, Tyler visited the site and began his exploration.
The beauty of being armed with a submersible robot allowed Tyler to explore in the vast deepness of the Mid-Cayman Rise and also allowed most of his team to explore via intelligent high speed satellite communications. Tylers land locked team of scientists used real time live video derived from a camera on the submersible robot to view the new secrets that unfolded under the deep sea.
The most surprising phenomena that was witnessed was the fact that two types of animals who had never before been witnessed interacting with eachother were doing just that. Tubeworms and shrimp were living in an area devoid of sunlight where scientists had previously thought was impossible. Instead, both creatures have evolved to rely on chemosynthetic bacteria feeding on the rich minerals that seep from the volcanic earth below.
Not only was this revelation astounding and previously unknown, but it was also amazing to find out that tubeworms were happily living in the Atlantic despite earlier ideas that hydrothemal vent tubeworms only lived in the pacific.
In a recent press release, marine biologist Paul Tyler of the University of Southhampton said, “The iconic symbol of Pacific vents is the tubeworm, while the iconic symbol of Atlantic vents is the vent shrimp … To find both together has important implications for the evolution of vent communities in the Caribbean as the Atlantic became separated from the Pacific some 5 million years ago.”
1) Chemosynthetic bacteria living in a tubeworm’s tissue color it burgundy.
2) Close-ups of the underwater discovery. Chemosynthetic tubeworms are labelled “T” while the shrimp are labelled “S.” Small white dots are marine snails.(NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program/MCR Expedition 2011/NOAA-OER)
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