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Extreme Habitat in Red Sea Brine Pools Found Teeming With Life, Experts Hope to Learn How Life Began on Earth

Thick carpets of microbes support many species in the deep sea brine pools.

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

Turquoise waters of the Red Sea are edged by beaches and rimmed on both sides by barren, rugged mountain chains (Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg)

Time and again nature surprises humans with its immense power. As experts scour the universe for a viable habitat, nature is showcasing how even its most extreme environments are capable of supporting life forms. This was evident in 2022 after analyzing a deep-sea brine pool in the Red Sea. Findings regarding the location, along with its dangers were published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.

Early morning February sunrise on the Red Sea near Hurghada, Egypt (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Betty Wills (Atsme)) — Early sunrise on the Red Sea near Hurghada, Egypt (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Betty Wills (Atsme))

Deep sea brine pools contain extremely salty water that formulates on the seafloor, stated Live Science. To this date, only three places have been known to support brine pools. These are the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. Among these, the Red Sea has the highest number of such pools, as per experts. Scientists think these bodies were created because of mineral depositions during the Miocene epoch (about 23 million to 5.3 million years ago).

Before the study, all the known deep-sea brine pools in the Red Sea were placed around 15.5 miles (25 km) offshore. This made it hard for experts to examine them. However, in 2020, the situation changed when a deep-sea brine pool was located in the Gulf of Aqaba, a northern pocket of the Red Sea. This site was just 1.25 miles (2 km) from shore and hence easier to analyze. The particular hypersaline lake is such that a lot of oxygen cannot exist within it. Despite the atypical chemistry, the extreme habitat was found to be teeming with life. Experts were both surprised and inquisitive about the finding as they hoped it would help them to figure out how life began on Earth and how it can grow in other water-rich planets.

Picture of deep-sea brine pool in the Red Sea (Image Source: Communications Earth and Environment)

Researchers noted that there were thousands of microbes in these pools. "Our current understanding is that life originated on Earth in the deep sea, almost certainly in anoxic — without oxygen — conditions," study lead author Sam Purkis, a professor and chair of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami shared. "Deep-sea brine pools are a great analog for the early Earth and, despite being devoid of oxygen and hypersaline, are teeming with a rich community of so-called 'extremophile' microbes. Studying this community hence allows a glimpse into the sort of conditions where life first appeared on our planet, and might guide the search for life on other 'water worlds' in our solar system and beyond."

Experts believed the presence of microbes aided in increasing the vitality of the habitat. "At this great depth, there is ordinarily not much life on the seabed," Purkis said. "However, the brine pools are a rich oasis of life. Thick carpets of microbes support a diverse suite of animals." The study claimed that the pool was also strategically used by creatures like fish, shrimp, and eels. Considering that the site is devoid of oxygen, any creature that enters the pool mostly dies. These hunter-beings prey on the unfortunate guests.

Researchers are hopeful that these microbes located in the brine pools will aid them in developing novel medicines that will help humanity in the future. "Molecules with antibacterial and anticancer properties have previously been isolated from deep-sea microbes living in brine pools," Purkis explained.