Scientists Discover Real-Life ‘Lost City’ Teeming with Life Deep Beneath the Atlantic Ocean
For centuries, the mystery of the deep oceans has captivated the human imagination, giving rise to countless myths and legends. But now, scientists have made a remarkable discovery that has brought a real lost city to light, and it’s not the stuff of ancient tales and folklore.
The “Lost City” lies west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge mountain range, hundreds of meters below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Its rocky, towering landscape features massive walls, columns, and monoliths stretching more than 60 meters tall. Discovered in the year 2000, this hydrothermal field is the longest-lived venting environment known in the ocean, according to Science Alert.
This underwater city is home to a diverse ecosystem, with snails, crustaceans, microbial communities, crabs, shrimps, eels, and other larger animals thriving near its vents. Even more intriguing is that the hydrocarbons produced by these vents were not created by sunlight or carbon dioxide, but by chemical reactions on the seafloor. This discovery has significant implications for the understanding of life’s origins on Earth and beyond.
Researchers believe that the Lost City could offer insights into ecosystems that could potentially exist elsewhere in the universe, such as on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, or even on Mars in the past.
The tallest monolith in the Lost City has been named Poseidon, in honor of the Greek god of the sea, and measures over 60 meters high. Northeast of this tower, a cliffside weeps with fluid, producing delicate, multi-pronged carbonate growths.
As the significance of the Lost City becomes increasingly clear, there are now calls for the site to be listed as a World Heritage site to protect this natural phenomenon. This is particularly important given the potential threats posed by deep-sea mining activities, such as the recent rights granted to Poland for mining in the vicinity of the thermal field.
The Lost City’s discovery serves as a powerful reminder of the need to protect and understand the remarkable ecosystems that exist in the unexplored depths of our oceans.