A group of German and Israeli researchers have discovered a system of
deep water springs and new forms of life growing on the floor of the
Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.
The findings overturn the long held belief that the Dead Sea was too salty to support life.
The
group of 10 researchers camped on the shore of the Dead Sea and
conducted daily dives with state-of-the-art equipment, collecting
samples and analysing them in an improvised laboratory. They were headed
by Doctor Danny Lonescu from the Microsensor Group at the Max Planck
Institute for Marine Microbiology of Bremen, Germany.
Dr Lonescu
led the team of divers to two sites where they spotted circular ripples
close to shore, signalling discharge from an underwater spring.
The
divers collected water samples around the fissures in the sea floor and
discovered micro-organisms that have never been seen before and which
raise new scientific questions.
The team now want to know how
these micro-organisms are able to thrive in an environment that is too
salty for other marine life.
The presence of springs and the
discovery of mats of bacteria covering large parts of the sea bed dates
back to the 1930s. However, the dangerous conditions due to the high
salt concentration in the land-locked sea have made scientific diving
difficult.
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