"Death Pool" Disappeared from the Red Sea Floor - and Left a Surprising Discovery

Researchers in the Red Sea discovered remnants of an ancient 'death pool' that vanished, at a depth of about 1,370 meters. In place of the lethal waters, they found animal skeletons, colorful sediments, and exceptionally high concentrations of metals, including manganese at concentrations up to 117 times the norm. The study, published in AGU Advances, points to the role of microorganisms in metal concentration and may help understand the origins of life and the search for life in space.

Researchers in the Red Sea discovered remnants of an ancient 'death pool' at a depth of about 1,370 meters, in an underwater basin called 'Home Deep', about 90 kilometers south of the active brine pools discovered in the Gulf of Eilat. The ancient pool no longer contains salty and lethal waters, but left behind an unusual accumulation of sea urchin skeletons, sediments of exceptional color, and extremely high concentrations of metals such as iron, copper, manganese, and potassium. The manganese concentration in the organic material reached up to 117 times the concentration in the normal environment. The study, published in the journal AGU Advances, indicates that tiny microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions contributed to the metal accumulation. The findings also have implications for understanding the origins of life on Earth and the search for life in space, as similar extreme environments may exist in the subsurface oceans of moons such as Europa and Enceladus.