Chinese researchers have discovered a huge, previously unknown hydrothermal system at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Located northeast of Papua New Guinea, the Kunlun system consists of the largest large crater, approximately 5,900 feet (1,800 meters) wide and 430 feet (130 meters) deep. These craters come together in what researchers call “pipe swarms,” which can release large quantities of hydrogen and feed a thriving life throughout the system.
Kunlan resembles the Atlantic hydrothermal fields known as Lost City, located in the Atlantis massive underwater mountain range. However, Kunlun has some unique features, including extraordinary sizes. Kunlun covers an area of about 4 square miles (11 square kilometers) and is hundreds of times larger than the lost city, according to a study published on August 8 in Journal Science Advances.
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The Kunlun system provides scientists with new windows of deep-sea serpentine. This is the process in which seawater chemically reacts with mantle rocks below the seabed to form meandering minerals (a group of minerals known for their greenish colours) and release hydrogen.
Researchers believe that the potential link between these hydrogen emissions and the emergence of life in Kunratsu can be studied. According to a statement released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the system is believed to have hydrogen-rich liquids similar to the early Earth’s chemical environment.
“What’s particularly interesting is its ecological potential,” said Weidong Sun, professor at the Institute of Oceanography at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a statement. “We have observed a variety of deep-sea lives thriving here – shrimp, squat lobsters, anemones, tubeworms – species that may depend on hydrogen fuel chemical bonds.”
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Because sunlight does not reach the deep sea, photosynthesis cannot be used for living on the seabed. This is the process by which plants, algae and certain bacteria near the surface convert sunlight into energy. Therefore, life in the deep sea depends on chemical bonds, which involves using chemicals such as hydrogen as energy sources to produce food.
Another Chinese-led research team recently used a potential crew to photograph a chemical synthesis-based community at a depth of 31,000 feet (9,500 m) at the bottom of the northwest Pacific Ocean. These communities are rarely documented, and the vast majority of the seabed is unexplored and unstudied.
In the new study, researchers used the same diving ability to map Kunruns and explore the four largest craters. By measuring the hydrogen concentration in Kunlun’s hydrothermal liquid, researchers estimated that the field produced more than 5% of the world’s non-raw hydrogen production.
The team proposed that a school of documented pipes would be formed in stages. First, hydrogen accumulated underneath the surface and burst in a large explosion. Fractures then form along the edges and bottom of the resulting structure, causing even more intense eruptions of hydrogen-rich hydrothermal fluids. These fractures are slowly blocked by forming minerals, and hydrogen can accumulate again, which can promote additional small-scale explosions.
Kunlun differs from the more common volcanic hydrothermal floor systems found at plate boundaries. These systems often have chimney-like structures such as black smokers and run at very high temperatures at around 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). Serpentinization systems like Kunlun and The Lost City are cool, with temperatures below 194 F (90 C).
Kunlan is not only bigger than the lost city, but also more unusual places. The Lost City is located near the central ridge, which forms along the boundaries of the branched plates and exposes the mantlelock, while the Kunlun is located inside the plate, far from the ridge.
“The Kunlun system stands out with its extremely high hydrogen flux, scale and unique geological environment,” San said. “It shows that serpentine-driven hydrogen production can occur far from medium-grown ridges, challenging years of assumptions.”
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