The Gulf of Aqaba is a northern extension to the Red Sea. These salty lakes offer clues to life on other planets and hold secrets into the way the oceans formed millions of years ago.
In partnership with OceanX, Sam Purkis, professor and chair of the UM Department of Marine Geosciences and team made their discovery more than one mile beneath the sea surface.
Purkis said it would be difficult to determine if alien planets could host any living beings. The 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.
Despite being one of the most extreme environments on Earth, the brine pools are home to a lot of life. The Red Sea has a brine pool of microbes.
Brine pools were discovered in the Gulf of Aqaba for the first time.
Purkis said that they were very fortunate. The discovery was made in the last five minutes of the ten hour ROV dive.
In the Gulf of Aqaba, these extremely salty, zero oxygen pools are located close to the coastline. The area of the Gulf of Aqaba is home to a number of faults and fissures.
The 500-year-old submarine landslide that Purkis and team discovered could have implications for coastline development in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
More information: Sam J. Purkis et al, Discovery of the deep-sea NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Communications Earth & Environment (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00482-x
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