The word "Atlantis" has always played with our imagination as a name given to what is said to be a lost civilization, and it has been dealt with by many films, documentaries and others.

In 2000, a group of scientists who were on an expedition aboard the research vessel "Atlantis" discovered a field of hydrothermal vent structures, which are structures that spread in the world's seas and oceans at the separations between the Earth's crust plates, and about 500 of them are known so far. field.

The Lost City field has been ranked as the longest-lived of known thermal venting environments in the world's oceans, with continuous activity for at least 120,000 years.

Because it is located on the Atlantis plateau, the site was named the "Lost City" after the lost city of Atlantis.

Since its discovery, the University of Washington has adopted its study as part of a major research project involving researchers from different disciplines, and it aims to explore in detail the field and its surrounding environment.

pH in the Lost City Thermal Vent Tunnel between 9 and 11 (University of Washington)

Hydrothermal field environment of the lost city

The Lost City is located 20 km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, within the Atlantis Massif, on a mountain more than 4267.20 meters above the sea floor, where harsh conditions differ from the rest of the marine environment in terms of temperature and pH. Both.

The pH of liquids is usually expressed in terms of its pH value, so the liquid is either acidic, moderate, or alkaline.

When the pH exceeds 7, the liquid is considered alkaline, and according to this scale, the researchers discovered that the pH in the thermal vent tunnel of the Lost City ranges between 9 and 11, meaning that it has an alkaline environment, and the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Celsius.

Interactions of liquid rocks with suprabasal rocks produce alkaline liquids with high concentrations of hydrogen, methane, and other low molecular weight hydrocarbons. These dissolved gases in turn support new microbial communities living in the vents there.

Hard to say hydrothermal vent structures pollute the ocean (University of Washington)

Is the Lost City's thermal field polluting the ocean?

Over thousands of years, Lost City vent fluids release gases (such as methane and hydrogen) and certain chemicals (such as calcium and some trace minerals) into the ocean waters, contributing chemicals, gases, and energy to the surrounding systems, in turn keeping our environment in balance for millions of years.

Thus the researchers find it difficult to say that these vent stacks pollute the ocean, given that methane and hydrogen are essential to the survival of the microorganisms that live in the vents.

The Lost City hydrothermal field provides a suitable environment for a number of organisms (University of Washington)

Who lives in the heat field of the lost city?

The active venting carbonate structures known as Poseidon, more than 60 meters above the sea floor, are perched on the Lost City thermal field.

This complex structure consists of 4 large columns with a diameter of several meters, fused at its base to form a huge structure that extends between east and west for at least a distance of 50 meters.

These parasitic structures resembling inverted cave stalactites are scattered on the northwest face.

The oxygen-free interior of vent structures contains biofilms of one type of archaea, Lost City Methanoscarcinales, a species that metabolizes methane, and bacteria associated with oxidizers of methane and sulfur are mostly found in the oxygenated outer walls of the structures. , where the fluid chemistry differs significantly from the internal parts of the hull.

The large surface of the lost city structures provides ample space for marine animal habitats, and researchers have found many invertebrates within the porous channels and carbon fissures.

Although the overall biomass is low within the field, it supports as much biodiversity as any other skeletal system of underwater volcanic vents in the mid-Atlantic.

The Lost City Research website provides extensive information, images, and other resources (University of Washington)

Invitation to participate

Ironically, Lost City Research is inviting to join its expeditions aboard the research vessel Atlantis to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge's Mid-Atlantic Ridge thermal field.

“Using the submersible Alvin, and the remotely operated vehicle (ABE), we will explore in detail for the first time the Lost City vent field discovered in December 2000,” they said. During this journey, we will share deep-sea images and new discoveries with you. Which we do as we revisit this wonderful place, where the limestone structures rise 55 meters above the sea floor.”