There is a jagged landscape of towers close to the summit of an underwater mountain.
Their walls and columns are blue in the light of a remotely operated vehicle. There are stacks the size of toadstools, a big monolith, and a small one. The lost city is this one.
The Lost City Hydrothermal Field is the longest-lived vent in the ocean. It is the best thing that has ever been found.
The mantle in this part of the world has reacted with the water in the ocean for at least 100,000 years.
Heterogeneity in the cracks and crevices of the field's vents feeds novel communities.
There is an abundance of snails and crustaceans in the chimneys. Crabs, shrimp, sea urchins, and eels are some of the larger animals.
It appears to be teeming with life despite the extreme nature of the environment, and some researchers think it's worth our attention.
This is the only remotely operated vehicle that has been able to find this type of field in the ocean.
The hydrocarbons produced by the Lost City's vents were formed by chemical reactions on the deep sea floor.
Because hydrocarbons are the building blocks of life, it's possible that life started in this habitat. It's not just on our planet.
"This is an example of a type of environment that could be active on the moons of Jupiter and Enceladus right this second," William Brazelton, a microbiologist, was quoted as saying.
It's possible that Mars in the past.
The Lost City's ecology doesn't depend on the heat of magma, unlike underwater volcanic vent called black smokers.
The Lost City's chimney produces up to 100 times more hydrogen and methane than the black smokers do.
The large calcite vents of the Lost City suggest that they have been active for a long time.
The tallest monolith is named Poseidon and it is more than 60 meters high.
There is a cliffside just northeast of the tower. There are clusters of delicate, multi-pronged carbonate growths that extend out like the fingers of upturned hands, according to researchers at the University of Washington.
Scientists aren't the only ones in that area.
Poland won the right to mine around The Lost City. There are no precious resources to be dredged up in the thermal field itself, so the destruction of the city's surroundings could have unforeseen consequences.
This is the Lost City, a towering ecosystem in the middle of the North Atlantic. It's completely unique, with life found nowhere else on Earth. And if someone wanted to destroy it? There's nothing you could do about it. No laws. No consequences. Welcome to the High Seas... pic.twitter.com/mdG5wOsr5h
— Open Ocean Exploration (@RebeccaRHelm) August 22, 2022
Scientists warn that any discharges caused by the mining could wash over the habitat.
The Lost City should be listed as a World Heritage site to protect it before it is too late.
The Lost City has stood the test of time.
We would ruin it.
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