Researchers note in the study published in the journal Nature Communications, titled "Discovery of the deep-sea NEOM Brine Pools in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea," that the conditions create one of the most extreme environments on the planet, which may offer clues to how life first appeared on the planet. Underwater death pools or deep-sea brine pools are extremely salty water accumulating in seabed depressions. It was like we had just caught this one moment in time.University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences researchers used a remotely operated vehicle and discovered rare underwater death pools in the Gulf of Aqaba. And what was even more incredible was that when we went back again the next day, there was absolutely nothing happening. It’s the first time anything that violent has been captured coming out of what looks like a sea desert. When I showed a scientist what we’d filmed, she said she had never seen anything like it. I don’t think anyone has ever seen an eruption before. “We saw a volcano that belched mud, because the mud was being disturbed by these bubbles of methane. This separation between the camera and the lights, rather than having everything coming from the same direction, meant we were able to create these really beautiful images.” They witnessed mud volcanos for the first time It meant that we were basically bringing a TV studio down the the seafloor. So we actually dived with two submarines, and that meant that we could stack a load of lights on the second sub. We did have one amazing camera that could film in the dark, but down in the deep your light really doesn't go very far. “We’re going into a world where the sun doesn't shine. Rex/Shutterstock They managed to create an underwater TV studio They were like ballet dancers, moving in coordinated flight.” And yet, despite seeing their monstrous side, I was surprised by how beautiful they were. Once they’d finished eating other fish, they turned on each other. They’re vicious they’re feeding machines. Then there was the Humboldt squid, which were each two metres long, and circled us in packs of thousands. We didn’t expect to see something so big down so deep. “The giant Mako shark coming straight at us at 600 metres deep was amazing. I suddenly thought, ‘Wow, this fish could rip a cable with its sword, this could really do damage.’” They were surrounded by thousands of cannibal squids I couldn't stop thinking about the famous picture of the giant swordfish sticking out of the metal part of the submarine in 1967. It had this giant needle point coming straight at us. Because I did not expect to see a creature from the shallow ocean. “At about 800 metres deep, we suddenly saw a four metre-long fish, with a massive sword sticking off the top if its head, coming straight at us. and then another near death experience when the swordfish struck After half an hour, we found the leak and fixed it by sealing it off. So I was able to sit there without saying twenty Hail Mary’s and writing my will. I guess the reason I wasn't freaking out and screaming was because my team are British ex-navy and a lot of them are sub rescue pilots. The idea that this might be the end of us was definitely cycling somewhere around the back of my brain, but I’m fatalistic. We’re either going to get out of it or we’re not. And anyway, what could I do about it? I’m not a sub pilot I can’t fix it. I didn’t really have time to be petrified because we were so busy unpacking the sub and looking for the leak. I thought, ‘Is our submarine now going to rupture because of the pressure?” The pressure we were at was 45 times the pressure at the surface. For about twenty minutes, we had no idea where the water was coming from. And the problem is that at 450 metres, you’re close to an hour away from getting back to the surface of the water. "During our first dive in Antartica, water began seeping into our sub at 450 metres deep. That’s what makes it so difficult to explore, to go deeper, because the pressure gets bigger." Doherty had a near-death experience when the sub sprung a leak The really thick acrylic sphere we’re in takes the pressure, and the submarine actually gets squeezed as you descend. If we were exposed to the pressure down there we’d be dead. Luckily, we feel no water pressure in the sub.
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