--- title: "Scientists Peeked Underneath the Seafloor and Discovered Something “Totally Unexpected”" description: "When scientists looked underneath the seafloor, they found a stunning alien landscape — and found way more life than expected. " date: "2024-10-16" modified: "2024-10-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/below-seafloor-life-vents" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "deep sea" - "hydrothermal vents" - "marine life" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Peeked Underneath the Seafloor and Discovered Something “Totally Unexpected” ![When scientists looked underneath the seafloor, they found a stunning alien landscape — and found way more life than expected. ]() *\Image: Schmidt Ocean Institute\* ## Heavily Ventilated When scientists looked around the strange vents at the bottom of the sea, they found a stunning alien landscape — and, almost by accident, found way more life than expected. As [*National Geographic* reports](), this deep-sea expedition led by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the first of its kind to find larger animal life underneath the seabed than the [microbes]() and [larvae]() known to congregate there. Known as [hydrothermal vents](), these underwater volcanic ridges have long been known to attract all manner of [microscopic marine life]() to the otherwise largely uninhabited seafloor. Until this expedition's robotic dive, however, scientists had not yet seen what's underneath the seafloor near these vents. Using a remote-controlled submersible robot, researcher Sabine Gollner and her team had been trying to collect deep-sea rock samples at the [Tica Vent](), a hydrothermal vent on the Eastern Pacific Rise tectonic barrier to the west of the Americas. Their goal had been to check out the larvae and other small organisms that lived on those strange underwater volcanic rocks, but because they were so heavy, the Royal Netherlands researchers had to come up with a different plan of action. After directing the submersible bot to lift up sections of seabed near the vent, the marine biologists were astounded by what they found: tiny cavities coursing with tubeworms and snails that had previously only been [seen on the seafloor's surface]() before. "This was totally unexpected," Gollner, who also co-authored a study on the findings in the [journal *Nature Communications*](), told the [*Associated Press*](). https://twitter.com/SchmidtOcean/status/1846354960075657596 ## Shock and Awe The researchers believe that the larvae for these marine critters may be traveling through the vents on currents of "warm fluid" — a finding that could help us understand how life operates in the deep. "The vent ecosystem in this area is not restricted to what we see above," Gollner told *NatGeo*, "but it also includes life in the subsurface." Along with having implications for the conservation of "extremophiles" like these subsurface grubs against the threat of deep-sea mining, scientists also say that this discovery may provide clues about how life could operate further out in our Solar System. "If there is life beyond Earth," remarked Boston College biologist Heather Olins, who was not involved in the study, "it’s not going to be solar-powered." **More on marine monstrosities:** [*These Mighty Morphin’ Jellyfish Have a Mind-Blowing Survival Trick Up Their Sleeves*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()