Recent explorations of the Red Sea have unveiled remarkable natural death traps, believed to be the site where Moses parted the waters. These brine pools, located 4,000 feet beneath the Gulf of Aqaba, contain water that is up to 10 times saltier than typical seawater, resulting in a lack of oxygen that is lethal to marine life. This information comes from a study published in Nature Communications.
The study indicates that larger predators await at the edges of these pools, ready to seize the helpless prey that have been stunned or killed by the harsh conditions.
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A research team led by Sam Purkis, a professor and chair of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami, utilized remotely operated submersibles and deep-sea probes to investigate the deep-sea trenches between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The researchers speculate that the unique conditions of these brine pools replicate the harsh environment of early Earth, suggesting that this location may be where life first emerged in the deep sea. Purkis stated, “Our current understanding is that life originated on Earth in the deep sea, almost certainly in anoxic—without oxygen—conditions.”
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The study further suggests that these “death pools” could provide critical insights in the search for extraterrestrial organisms.
According to the study, this extreme ecosystem ranks among the planet’s most unique environments, potentially resembling the conditions found on distant “water worlds” outside our solar system.
Due to the scarcity of surviving organisms in the brine pools, the sediment layers remain undisturbed, preserving a historical record of climate changes and geological events. Purkis explains, “Ordinarily, these animals bioturbate or churn up the seabed, disturbing the sediments that accumulate there. Not so with the brine pools. Here, any sedimentary layers that settle to the bed of the brine pool remain exquisitely intact.”
He and his team are optimistic that these pristine conditions will facilitate a deeper understanding of ancient ocean environments, aiding in reconstructing climate patterns and tracing the evolution of Earth’s ecosystems over millions of years.
Similar formations have been identified in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of America, and the Antarctic Ocean, but none have been discovered at such depths.
