Scientists have found rare deep-sea salt pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, a part of the Red Sea. These pools are very salty and lack oxygen, earning them the nickname "death pools." They are home to unique microbes that thrive in extreme conditions.
The discovery was made in 2020 by a team led by Dr. Sam Purkis from the University of Miami. They used a special underwater robot on the OceanXplorer research ship. They found one large pool, about 10,000 square meters, and three smaller ones, all about 1.1 miles deep.
These pools have high salt levels and no oxygen, making them extreme environments. Despite this, they support extremophile microbes like bacteria and archaea. Studying these microbes helps scientists understand how life might have started on Earth and how to look for life on other planets.
The sediment at the bottom of these pools holds records of past events. These records include tsunamis, floods, and earthquakes. Analysis shows major floods happen about every 25 years and tsunamis about every 100 years.
Because the pools are near the coast, they contain minerals from the land. This makes them archives of tsunamis, floods, and earthquakes over thousands of years.
The discovery also opens doors for biotechnology research. Microbes from these pools produce compounds with potential medical uses. Some compounds have antibacterial and anticancer properties.
These findings help us understand extreme ecosystems on Earth and the potential for life on other planets. Researchers continue to study these pools to learn about the origins of life and Earth's geological history.