Notes from the Deep

ife is both stranger and hardier than we know. Until quite recently, scientists thought the realm of deep ocean, far from the Sun's sustaining rays, was a cold, dark wasteland. Then, in 1977, researchers investigating hydrothermal vents — hot springs on the ocean floor — discovered communities thriving in total darkness. Specialized bacteria in these communities turn chemicals seeping from the vents into food much like plants on land make energy from sunlight. These bacteria are the base of the food chain for life at the vents. Clustered near these vents giant tubeworms, scale worms, and many other previously undiscovered species thrive on food supplied by the bacteria. Some of the biggest and most dominant species, like the giant tubeworms, mussels, and clams, house the bacteria inside their bodies in a finely tuned symbioses. In other words, these animals give the bacteria a place to live, and in turn, the bacteria provide the host with a food supply.

Penn State professor of biology Charles Fisher has been one of the leaders in investigating the physiology and ecology of these exotic communities first-hand. This month, Fisher and colleagues James Childress of the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Cindy Van Dover of William & Mary, are at it again, leading an expedition in the East Pacific Ocean, 500 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. From their floating base on the research vessel Atlantis, scientists will dive in the research submarine ALVIN to sites along the East Pacific rise, 2,500 meters down, to study the extreme life forms they encounter in their natural environment and collect some for shipboard analyses.

Our own Joanna Lott is part of the team aboard the Atlantis. Now that she has her sea legs, Joanna is sending back a series of live dispatches. Welcome aboard!