00:03Space is famously referred to as the final frontier, but here on Earth we still have at least one more
00:08of those, the bottom of the ocean.
00:11And now scientists with the Schmidt Ocean Institute have taken a submersible more than a mile down into some of
00:16our planet's deepest waters,
00:17and have made a discovery never before seen by human eyes.
00:21They used a robotic arm to flip over large pieces of volcanic material, and underneath they found what can only
00:26be described as veins,
00:27filled with fluid, and they were absolutely teeming with life.
00:31According to the Institute's Executive Director,
00:33on land we have long known of animals living in cavities underground, and in the ocean of animals living in
00:38sand and mud.
00:39But for the first time, scientists have looked for animals beneath hydrothermal vents.
00:43They call it a new ecosystem, hidden beneath another ecosystem.
00:47And while experts first discovered hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor back in the 70s,
00:51this is the first time they've taken a look underneath.
00:53Finding a whole new world of worms, sea snails, and chemosynthetic bacteria,
00:57that don't require sunlight to survive, but live off minerals instead.
01:01They add that this is a huge discovery, especially as they found a particular worm,
01:06that actually travels through the vents and colonizes new areas, using them as a roadway.
01:14Responsibility
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