Mysterious Tar Mounds Harbor Deep-Sea Creatures

Mysterious tar mounds have been found off the coast of Angola, and despite being made from the same substance that covers our roads, these structures harbor a wealth of deep-sea creatures, new research describes.

More than 2,000 mounds of asphalt lie just two kilometers (1.2 miles) beneath the ocean's surface, ranging from the size of a football field to small hills just several hundred meters across. Scientists had already known these asphalt mounds existed, as they are found in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of California, but this is the first time they were seen on this side of the Atlantic.

The findings are described in the journal Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.

These deep-sea "slow tar volcanoes" are created from oil flowing from within the ocean sediment and hydrocarbons migrating around subsurface salt structures.

They may seem inhabitable, but according to the study, at least 21 types of deep-water creatures call this place home, including large sponges, soft-corals, octopus and fish, along with blobfish and sea cucumbers.