hot damn, I love the Discovery Channel

OK, there was some super-cool stuff on Blue Planet on the Discovery Channel. They were discussing deep-sea ecosystems and highly unusual underwater ecosystems.

One amazing thing was their discussion of deep-sea vents. The vents blow out chemicals and steam, but at the great depth at which they are located, the temperatures only get into the 300s Fahrenheit. In spite of the extreme heat and chemical activity, though, there is a lot of life down there that thrives on the chemicals produced.



There seems to be a specific color scheme, too, that is vividly red and white. Here's an image with text from a forthcoming National Geographic book on the subject.



Another amazing topic of choice--the underwater pond! It is a pond about 700 meters below the surface of the ocean--a brine pool that, owing to its higher density, does not mix into the surrounding ocean water. It even has its own shore. Here's a nifty link that has a laser image you can click on to see other photos up close. It's off the Gulf of Mexico.

Pool o'brine

Now, that link appears to be faulty from time to time, so try clicking on links here if that doesn't work.

A cool article.