Tyranny54
August 8, 2005, 05:02 AM
So, I was finally able to catch the IMAX film "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" at the New Detroit Science Center and it was quite fascinating. I had previously seen a documentary on cable television discussing the existence and apparent resilience of underwater sea animals that live and thrive at ridge vents located at the bottoms of the oceans and at the intersections of tectonic plates. These animals have apparently been capable of surviving and evolving among the most catestrophic events that have taken place on the planet. Even at times when all life on the surface of the planet and within shallow waters were seemingly vaporized, these deep ocean animals perservered.
The tidbits from the film that I found most fascinating included the existence of "tube worms" at the openings of these vents, where literally the harshest environments for life on the entire planet occur (think temperatures that would instantly disintigrate any biological entity elsewhere on the planet). Bacteria in the worms harvest poinsonous chemicals like hydrogen sulfide from the vents and convert it into food through chemosynthesis. The tube worms survive on the food produced by the bacteria. The point most interesting to me is that parts of the worms swell red in color because of the existence of chemicals such as hemoglobin, which is abundant in human blood and functions in oxygen transport.
Additionally, the discovery of different animals within the openings of the vents (ridiculously high temperatures) was even more amazing. Instead of sunlight (there's absolutely no trace of it at these depths), these animals rely solely on chemosynthesis of chemicals from the earth core gases that escape from the vents. Analysis of the animals reveals a complex roadmap of evolution and genetics contained in DNA, something humans obvioulsy share with them. The belief, of course, is that life originally or even possibly at later points emerged and evolved from these animals and vents.
The cable television documentary that I mentioned above also discussed related discoveries revolving around the emergence of life on earth from biological enties delivered to the planet from space debris. While it is known that space debris can include traces of molecules including chemicals such as amino acids and proteins, which form the building blocks of life, how such building blocks are capable of spontaneously developing into living animals remains quite a mystery. However, researchers discovered that intense temperatures and pressures caused by enourmous impact have the capacity to combine these molecules including the building blocks of life to produce more complex molecules. For example, a comet including such molecules that impacts the earth may create and distribute more complex molecules in the process.
Just as "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" and the current IMAX film "Forces of Nature" characterize it, it is interesting to think of our planet as little more than a decaying core with a molten exterior on which sliding plates of cooled rock float. According to this theory, earth is essentially a burning ember remaining from a star that exploded in a super nova billions of years ago on which an atmosphere, water, and life eventually emerged.
While probably slightly boring for younger children, the film is a must-see for those heavily interested in science, especially evolution or deep sea life.
T
The tidbits from the film that I found most fascinating included the existence of "tube worms" at the openings of these vents, where literally the harshest environments for life on the entire planet occur (think temperatures that would instantly disintigrate any biological entity elsewhere on the planet). Bacteria in the worms harvest poinsonous chemicals like hydrogen sulfide from the vents and convert it into food through chemosynthesis. The tube worms survive on the food produced by the bacteria. The point most interesting to me is that parts of the worms swell red in color because of the existence of chemicals such as hemoglobin, which is abundant in human blood and functions in oxygen transport.
Additionally, the discovery of different animals within the openings of the vents (ridiculously high temperatures) was even more amazing. Instead of sunlight (there's absolutely no trace of it at these depths), these animals rely solely on chemosynthesis of chemicals from the earth core gases that escape from the vents. Analysis of the animals reveals a complex roadmap of evolution and genetics contained in DNA, something humans obvioulsy share with them. The belief, of course, is that life originally or even possibly at later points emerged and evolved from these animals and vents.
The cable television documentary that I mentioned above also discussed related discoveries revolving around the emergence of life on earth from biological enties delivered to the planet from space debris. While it is known that space debris can include traces of molecules including chemicals such as amino acids and proteins, which form the building blocks of life, how such building blocks are capable of spontaneously developing into living animals remains quite a mystery. However, researchers discovered that intense temperatures and pressures caused by enourmous impact have the capacity to combine these molecules including the building blocks of life to produce more complex molecules. For example, a comet including such molecules that impacts the earth may create and distribute more complex molecules in the process.
Just as "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" and the current IMAX film "Forces of Nature" characterize it, it is interesting to think of our planet as little more than a decaying core with a molten exterior on which sliding plates of cooled rock float. According to this theory, earth is essentially a burning ember remaining from a star that exploded in a super nova billions of years ago on which an atmosphere, water, and life eventually emerged.
While probably slightly boring for younger children, the film is a must-see for those heavily interested in science, especially evolution or deep sea life.
T