Imagine you are driving through Sahara, your car is powered by solar energy. Now all on a sudden, solar panels or the device that catches sunlight went out of order either due to a malfunction or physical damage that occurred as the trail you are driving through is rough or you just hit against any roadside object very hard. Although your solar device is labeled ‘failure resistant’ or resistant against severe weather changes, things on real expeditions can always face life-threatening challenges. (more…)
*Pyrite nanoparticles from hydrothermal vents are a rich source of iron in the deep sea*
Similar to humans, the bacteria and tiny plants living in the ocean need iron for energy and growth. But their situation is quite different from ours–for one, they can’t turn to natural iron sources like leafy greens or red meat for a pick-me-up.
*Study Finds Connection between Atmospheric Events and the Deep Ocean*
Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies–known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface–can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500 meters deep, transporting tiny sea creatures, chemicals, and heat from hydrothermal vents over large distances.
The previously unknown deep-sea phenomenon, reported in the April 28 issue of the journal Science, helps explain how some larvae travel huge distances from one vent area to another, said Diane K. Adams, lead author at WHOI and now at the National Institutes of Health. (more…)
