Shining a light on mysteries of the deep
Source: Xinhua |
June 19, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HIGH-DEFINITION video images acquired by Chinese submersible Jiaolong show brown mussels dotting the area around a cold vent some 1,500 meters under the South China Sea, scientists said yesterday.
Zhou Huaiyang, professor of the School of Marine and Earth Science at Shanghai-based Tongji University, became the first scientist to work on the sub as a crew member during a dive yesterday.
Zhou said the quality of the images obtained during the dive was the best yet achieved in extreme oceanic conditions using domestically produced equipment.
"The discovery of multiple seabed dwellers, such as mussels and pilumnus crabs, will help to support further research concerning the deep-sea biosphere, gas hydrate resources and climate change," Zhou said.
A cold vent is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, said Feng Dong, a researcher from the South China Sea Oceanic Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Cold vents are a current focus in scientific circles, as they can give us information on potential gas hydrogen resources, climate change and extremophilic organisms," Feng said.
The Jiaolong's cold vent samples will help support research into deep-sea biospheres, Feng said.
Zhou Huaiyang, professor of the School of Marine and Earth Science at Shanghai-based Tongji University, became the first scientist to work on the sub as a crew member during a dive yesterday.
Zhou said the quality of the images obtained during the dive was the best yet achieved in extreme oceanic conditions using domestically produced equipment.
"The discovery of multiple seabed dwellers, such as mussels and pilumnus crabs, will help to support further research concerning the deep-sea biosphere, gas hydrate resources and climate change," Zhou said.
A cold vent is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, said Feng Dong, a researcher from the South China Sea Oceanic Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Cold vents are a current focus in scientific circles, as they can give us information on potential gas hydrogen resources, climate change and extremophilic organisms," Feng said.
The Jiaolong's cold vent samples will help support research into deep-sea biospheres, Feng said.
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