Journey to the Bottom of the Arctic Ocean

Using prototypes of robots that could someday be used to explore the icy depths of Jupiter's moon Europa, an expedition to study the deepest, most isolated parts of the Arctic Ocean begins next week.

It's possible -- probable, even -- that some submersibles will be lost in the trip to the Gakkel Ridge, but researchers say the risk is worth it: thought to be devoid of life, oceanographers in 2001 found hydrothermal plumes generated by deep-sea volcanic eruptions along the ridge. The eruptions add to the earth's crust, and may provide energy for some one-of-a-kind forms of life:

A successful voyage hinges on a lot of "ifs and buts," he says. For instance, no one has yet detected evidence of biological activity along the ridge. Yet the deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean – including the 1,100-mile ridge – have been isolated from the rest of the world's ocean floors for up to 65 million years. If organisms exist around Arctic hydrothermal vents, "then the very basis of life there has been evolving independently for tens of millions of years," he says.

Related Wired coverage here and here.

Undersea search begins for life at top of the world [Christian Science Monitor]

Image: NOAA