Scary 5,800 feet-Feet Long Brine Pool Near Red Sea Poisons Almost Every Animal to Death

Only the most extreme extremophiles can live in the severe circumstances found deep in the ocean. According to a new study, extremely saline brine pools are lethal to bigger creatures. They may support a variety of resilient microbe species and well preserved ocean sediments.

As the sediments in a recently discovered complex of brine pools were determined to date back thousands of years, these priceless pools of pristine ocean debris may prove to operate as windows into the past. The researchers who located and studied the brine lakes at a depth of 1,770 meters (5,800 feet) off the coast of Saudi Arabia released a report about their findings in Communications Earth & Environment.

Rare Deep-Sea Brine Pools Stun Animals to Death

Study author Sam Purkis, a lecturer and program director of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami, said the general consensus is that life on Earth evolved in the open ocean, most probably under environments without oxygen, Live Science reported.

Using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), the specialists discovered the waters 1.1 miles (1.77 kilometers) below the Red Sea's surface, which they named the NEOM Brine Pools in honor of the Saudi construction company that provided funding for the project.

There are just a few dozen deep-sea brine ponds that experts are aware of throughout the world. They have sizes ranging from a few thousand square feet to about a square mile, or 2.6 square kilometers.

Purkis asserted, as reported by the news outlet Time to Times, that sediment cores taken from the recently found saltwater lakes offer a continuous record of historical rainfall distribution, stretching back more than 1,000 years, as well as proof of earthquakes and natural disasters.

Saline lakes were located 15.5 miles (25 km) offshore in the Red Sea. Three smaller streams each had a diameter of less than 107 square feet, while the biggest pool had a radius of around 107,000 square feet (10,000 square meters) (10 square meters).

In addition, deep-sea saltwater ponds are a great representation of the early Earth because, despite being utterly devoid of atmosphere and hypersaline, they are inhabited by a wide diversity of so-called "extremophile" bacteria.

Researchers have already discovered antibacterial and anticancer substances in deep-sea microbes that live in brine lakes.

In fact, experts claim that anyone who dared go into the brine was "immediately stunned or killed." However, some creatures do succeed.

Purkis said in The Sun that surrounding marine predators feast on the unfortunate. There is often little life at such a deep depth on the seafloor.

Sea Creatures in the Red Sea

Times Now News mentioned that the Red Sea is also a food source for predators who devour the "unlucky fish" and is rich in biodiversity.

Experts wrote in their research that the fish, shrimp, and even worms that appeared to graze in the brine were particularly fascinating. The stream keeps out typical bottom life, such as hibernating shrimp, worms, and mollusks because the marinade lacks oxygen.

But unfortunately, the highly saline, oxygen-free pools near the coast are a record of ancient earthquakes, flash floods, and tsunamis that occurred in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Phys.org said Purkis and his team found evidence of a 500-year-old undersea landslide earlier this year. The discovery may have repercussions on the development of the coastlines of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Check out more news and information on Ocean in Science Times.