\n<\/p>\n
December 25, 2025<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Bizarre Ecosystem Discovered More Than Two Miles beneath Arctic Ocean<\/p>\n Dynamic mounds made of methane at a depth of some 3,640 meters act like \u201cfrozen reefs\u201d for a bizarre array of deep-sea creatures, new observations reveal<\/p>\n By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner<\/span><\/p>\n UiT \/ Ocean Census \/ REV Ocean<\/p>\n Deep down in the Arctic Ocean, life becomes bizarre. One might suppose that at its greatest depths, the icy, dark water would be inhospitable to much\u2014but a new discovery reminds us that that is far from the case.<\/p>\n Off the coast of Greenland, the deep seafloor is littered with towering mounds made of crystallized methane and other gases. Known as the Freya hydrate mounds, these structures act like a \u201cfrozen reef,\u201d a haven for creatures that have evolved to live in environments unlike any other on Earth.<\/p>\n In a new paper published in Nature Communications, scientists document the deepest ever found of these mounds, at 3,640 meters\u2014or some 2.26 miles\u2014below the surface. The discovery was made as part of the Ocean Census Arctic Deep\u2013EXTREME24 expedition to explore and research the Arctic environment and document ocean life using tools such as underwater robots.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Incredibly, the mounds, which are also known as gas hydrate cold seeps, release methane gas flares some 3,300 meters up into the water\u2014the tallest such flares ever recorded. Over time the mounds collapse and reform, a dynamic process that the researchers say gives insights into the Arctic\u2019s various ecosystems.<\/p>\n UiT \/ Ocean Census \/ REV Ocean<\/p>\n \u201cThese are not static deposits,\u201d Giuliana Panieri, a study co-author and a professor at the Arctic University of Norway, said in a statement about the new research. \u201cThey are living geological features, responding to tectonics, deep heat flow, and environmental change.\u201d<\/p>\n Gathered at the mounds are chemosynthetic creatures\u2014life that has evolved to depend not on sun-powered photosynthesis for food but on chemical reactions instead. Some of the creatures seen at the Freya mounds are also found at hydrothermal vents, or fissures in the seafloor through which hot, chemical-laden water erupts, the researchers said, suggesting these ecosystems may be more intertwined than previously thought.<\/p>\n \u201cThe links that we have found between life at this seep and hydrothermal vents in the Arctic indicate that these island-like habitats on the ocean floor will need to be protected from any future impacts of deep-sea mining in the region,\u201d said Jon Copley, a study co-author and a professor at the University of Southampton in England, in the same statement.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 25, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Bizarre Ecosystem Discovered More Than Two Miles beneath Arctic Ocean Dynamic mounds made of methane at a depth of some 3,640 meters act like \u201cfrozen reefs\u201d for a bizarre array of deep-sea creatures, new observations reveal By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner UiT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[240,11969,7167,5178,14277,7037,11002],"class_list":{"0":"post-39058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-arctic","9":"tag-beneath","10":"tag-bizarre","11":"tag-discovered","12":"tag-ecosystem","13":"tag-miles","14":"tag-ocean"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n