Researchers spot sea pig in Chile’s deepest known cold seeps located 2,836 metres below the sea

The scientists on board Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) who are in the midst of a research expedition in the Atacama Trench found Chile’s deepest and most northern cold seeps at the depth of 2,836 metres. During their research, they also spotted a type of odd-looking sea cucumber.

What did the researchers find?

During their expedition in the Atacama Trench, an 8,000-metre-deep formation that stretches along the length of Peru and Chile, the scientists discovered the record-breaking cold seeps.

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Cold seeps, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are locations where hydrocarbon-rich fluid like methane or hydrogen sulphide seeps up from below the seafloor.

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These areas which get more difficult to find as you go deeper were discovered by the team on board the R/V Falkor (too) after more than 12 hours using seafloor mapping data.

At 2,836 metres deep, the seeps provide chemical energy for deep-sea animals living without sunlight and offer insights as to how these conditions led to the development of life on Earth, said the team in a press release, on Tuesday (Jun 18).

“The microbes that live on these seeps have amazing strategies for producing food without sunlight,” said expedition lead Dr Lauren Seyler of Stockton University, in the statement.

She added, “Here on Earth, life in the dark is alien in its own right and provides critical information for understanding how organisms persist under the most extreme conditions.”

Seyler noted that we are still to figure out how life started on Earth and environments like these “might offer clues about the spark that ignited all the biodiversity on our beautiful planet.”

Creatures found

In a statement, the researchers said that visual evidence “strongly suggests” that the seeps found are methane seeps, chemosynthetic ecosystems where naturally occurring bubbles of the gas emerge from fissures in the seafloor.

They noted that the methane on the seafloor not only provides energy for the bacteria but also acts as a food source for animals like clams, squat lobsters, and tube worms.

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The team reportedly collected 70 specimens during their expedition and even spotted a sea pig, one of the planet’s strangest deep sea cucumbers, snuffling along the seafloor.

The sea pig may have gotten its name due to its pink-coloured body and love of the muddy seafloor as it is known for sifting out organic morsels to feed on.

(With inputs from agencies)