Rare Discovery: 'Deadly Jacuzzi' Found Beneath Mexican Gulf

Just like on land, oceans also have "hills, cliffs, and plains" in the form of abyss, trenches and the like. But would you believe that oceans also have rivers and lakes within them? Yes, they do, and with numerous explorations, they have also discovered other places that you may not have thought of.

A "pool" underneath the Mexican Gulf was discovered by Eric Cordes, an associate professor of biology at Temple University, and this was published in the journal Oceanography.

"It was one of the most amazing things in the deep sea. You go down into the bottom of the ocean and you are looking at a lake or a river flowing. It feels like you are not in this world," the professor said in a news article.

Read here: New Frontiers in Ocean Exploration

Based on the findings, the lake discovered in the Mexican Gulf was like a jacuzzi, though it was not simply a warm bath. It was deadly to organisms that are not used to high temperatures.

The "lake" was measured to have a salinity level five times higher than its surrounding waters, making it denser and not easily mixed up with the normal seawater. It also had high concentrations of methane and hydrogen sulfide which are already toxic for humans and for animals. Though selected species of shrimps and tubeworms were found to adapt in this kind of ecosystem, majority of the living organisms that can thrive here are bacteria. These organisms have the capacity to convert methane and other present chemicals for their food and other needs.

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these lakes and rivers under the sea are only some of the interesting things that happen beneath the oceans that cover most of the planet. They are formed when seawater seeps up and dissolves layers of salt found on seafloors. Upon dissolving the minerals, it creates depressions on the seafloor where the heavier seawater settles down because of higher density. The heavier water now creates the rivers and lakes, and it can also "flow" and even create "waves."

These ecosystems have been the researchers' playgrounds to further understand the maximum capacities of different organisms, while some have even used these to create models of possible adaptations to other planets.