At one of the world’s deepest undersea hydrothermal vents, tiny shrimp are piled on top of each other, layer upon layer, crawling on rock chimneys that spew hot water.
Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Field Report: Lake Untersee, Antarctica 15 November 2014
On The Road to Lake Untersee
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Processing of Analogues of Plume Fallout in Cold Regions of Enceladus by Energetic Electrons
Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn, is one of the most remarkable bodies in the solar system. This moon is a geologically active object, and despite the lower temperatures […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Oceans Are Vital for Life On Other Planets
New research published today in the journal Astrobiology shows the vital role of oceans in moderating climate on Earth-like planets. Until now, computer simulations of habitable climates on Earth-like planets […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hydrothermal Vents Could Explain Chemical Precursors to Life
Roy Price first heard about the hydrothermal vents in New Caledonia’s Bay of Prony a decade ago. Being a scuba diver and a geologist, he was fascinated by the pictures […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Evidence for Oceans of Water Deep in the Earth
Researchers from the University of New Mexico and Northwestern University report evidence for potentially oceans worth of water deep beneath the United States. Though not in the familiar liquid form […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Geologists Confirm Oxygen Levels of Ancient Oceans
Zunli Lu and Xiaoli Zhou, an assistant professor and Ph.D. student, respectively, in the Department of Earth Sciences, are part of an international team of researchers whose findings have been […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Viruses Hijack Deep-sea Bacteria At Hydrothermal Vents
More than a mile beneath the ocean’s surface, as dark clouds of mineral-rich water billow from seafloor hot springs called hydrothermal vents, unseen armies of viruses and bacteria wage war.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Metabolism May Have Started in Early Oceans Before the Origin of Life
The chemical reactions behind the formation of common metabolites in modern organisms could have formed spontaneously in the earth’s early oceans, questioning the events thought to have led to the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Reconstructed Ancient Ocean Reveals Secrets About the Origin of Life
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have published details about how the first organisms on Earth could have become metabolically active. The results, which are reported in the journal Molecular […]