One of the most bizarre discoveries made by a team of scientists from the University of Miami is of a brine pool that can immediately kill anything that swims into it.
The team made their discovery using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) at a depth of 1,770m, discovering the brine pool during the last five minutes of a 10-hour dive at the bottom of the Red Sea.
A brine pool is a depression in the seafloor which is filled with highly concentrated saltwater which is roughly three to eight times saltier than the surrounding ocean.
Professor Sam Purkis who was part of the team explained that the brine pool has no oxygen which means that any fish that swims inside is instantly stunned or killed due to the lethal saline levels which are there in place of oxygen. They also contain poisonous chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide.
Brine pools also have a preservative effect as researchers once found a crab inside a brine pool that had been dead for eight years but still had its soft tissue intact.
While unlucky for the fish that swim inside, brine pools are great for predators who have a ready meal waiting for them says Purkis.
Brine pools can teach the limits of life on Earth and in space
Brine pools are home to a large number of microbes and are surprisingly rich in biodiversity he explains. The fact that they can survive in harsh environments can help scientists understand the limits of life on Earth and in the solar system.
Purkis also emphasises that these discoveries are essential as they will ultimately help determine if alien planets can host any living beings.
“At this great depth, there is ordinarily not much life on the seabed. However, the brine pools are a rich oasis of life. Thick carpets of microbes support a diverse suite of animals,”
“Our discovery of a rich community of microbes that survive in extreme environments can help trace the limits of life on Earth and can be applied to the search for life elsewhere in our solar system and beyond.”
The discovery of this pool could also help scientists figure out how Earth’s oceans formed millions of years ago explains Purkis while speaking to Live Science.
Moral of the story? Being too salty can kill you. So be kind to those around you so that you don’t meet the same fate as the fish who swam into this brine pool.