"Chinese scientists have become the first to visit one of Earth's most remote and geologically intriguing realms: an underwater volcanic ridge in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition, which concluded late last month, explored the eastern part of the Gakkel ridge part of the global system of submerged mountain chains that play a key part in plate tectonics. A team of scientists took a submersible vessel beneath the Arctic sea ice and completed more than 40 dives, going as deep as 5,277 metres."
"The analyses are far from complete, but this section of the Gakkel ridge might have hot-water vents that spew from the sea floor. Similar vents on the western, and better-explored, part of the ridge are home to bizarre ecosystems that thrive far from the reach of sunlight. They provide scientists with some of the best opportunities to understand how life might arise and evolve in icy oceans on worlds beyond Earth, such as on Jupiter's ice-encrusted moon Europa."
Chinese scientists conducted a submersible expedition to the eastern Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean, reaching depths of 5,277 metres and completing more than 40 dives beneath sea ice. The team collected rocks, water and animals for multi-year study. Early indications suggest this section of the ridge might host hot-water hydrothermal vents on the sea floor. Comparable vents on the western ridge support unusual ecosystems that exist independent of sunlight and serve as analogues for potential life in icy extraterrestrial oceans such as Jupiter's moon Europa. The Gakkel Ridge creates new sea-floor crust at exceptionally slow spreading rates yet generates sufficient heat and chemical energy for vents.
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