Brine pools, on one hand, provide the basis for life through chemosynthesis for creatures living near them on the bottom of the ocean. On the other hand, the fluid they contain is extremely toxic to many forms of sea life. Here we see creatures that have ventured inside the dangerous interior of the brine pool and failed to return.
E/V Nautilus is exploring the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology, and more..
Brine water is four or five times saltier than seawater and this lake had its own shoreline and surface. The lake stretched 30m long (longer than a basketball court) and was estimated 5m deep. A raised bank of salts formed the shoreline with live mussel beds growing up the outer slopes.
A thin margin ringed the slope crest clearly defining the closest boundary for living creatures.
The super-high salinity of brine water makes it uninhabitable for nearly all species of life. Only a few species of archaea, single- celled extremophiles, can tolerate these conditions.
Fish glided above the pool, but never sank into the brine. One particular deep sea isopod must have crept a little too close to the edge. We found him tumbled in head first, dead half sticking from the brine.
