Featured Image Credit: RebeccaRHelm/X
Deep beneath the ocean scientists have discovered an ancient 'Lost City' bursting with life and towering landscapes.
Located just west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge mountain range and hundreds of metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean is where you'll find the incredible 'city' featuring monoliths stretching over 200 feet.
If you were ever lucky enough to be able to venture down there and see it for yourself, you'd be met with 'towers' that are covered in calcite growths.
According to researchers at the University of Washington, the 'Lost City' structures have 'clusters of delicate, multi-pronged carbonate growths that extend outward like the fingers of upturned hands.'
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Whilst both creepy and cool, what's equally fascinating is what lives down in the Lost City.
Snails, crustaceans and microbial communities all call the Lost City home thanks to its unique environment. There have also been crabs, shrimps and eels spotted lurking there too but they are much more rare.
Created in a 'hydrothermal field', it disperses hydrogen, methane and other dissolved gases into the surrounding water and this results in the bizarre 'tower like' structures making up the city.
What's equally unusual is that the hydrocarbons produced by the vents in the hydrothermal field weren't created in the typical way using sunlight or carbon dioxide, but instead created as a result of chemical reactions on the ocean floor.
Discovered in 2000, the Lost City is thought to be a window into how different ecosystems exist in the universe - including on other planets.
Microbiologist William Brazelton told The Smithsonian in 2018: "This is an example of a type of ecosystem that could be active on Enceladus or Europa right this second."
His words, referring to the planets of Saturn and Jupiter, show just how rare an infrastructure like this is and it's become a fascination for many.
Yet it turns out, it could easily be destroyed.
There are now calls for the Lost City to be listed as a World Heritage site, in order to try and keep it protected but so far no status has been granted.
In basic terms this means there's nothing to stop it being destroyed, and with mining happening around the thermal field by Poland it could come dangerously close to being wiped out.
It's worth pointing out that mining plans so far don't intend to touch the Lost City or its thousands of inhabitants, but mining around it could still have a knock on effect.
