Study: life thriving at hot sea vent, under thick ice

BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Marine creatures are thriving by a record hot volcanic vent in the Atlantic Ocean and in dark waters under thick Antarctic ice, scientists said on Sunday.

According to researchers in the 70-nation Census of Marine Life, 500 previously unknown marine species were found in 2006. Many new species were found in habitats that were dark, cold or deep. Some places seemed as inhospitable as planets such as Mars or Venus.

Among the most astonishing discoveries is a shrimp living on a thermal vent at the equatorial floor of the Atlantic Ocean that spews out water and a soup of heavy metals heated to 407C — the hottest sea vent ever documented and more than hot enough to melt lead.

"This is the most extreme environment and there is plenty of life around it," said Chris German, of Britain's Southampton Oceanography Center and a leader of the Atlantic survey.

The shrimp species has not yet been determined. It could be new to scientists but is very similar to the Rimicaris exoculata shrimp seen at cooler vents.

At other oceanic extremes scientists discovered dozens of animals, including jellyfish, living beneath ice 700 meters thick and 200 kilometers from open water.

The new findings boost theories that planets other than Earth are suitable for life.

"The age of discovery is not over," said Jesse Ausubel, a program manager at the U.S. Sloan Foundation, which is a sponsor of the 10-year Census. Finds "are provocative for NASA and for people who are interested in life in places other than Earth."

Source: Xinhua, China, Editor: Nie Peng

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