Aliens of the Deep

<i>freezing ocean, minerals condense out,</i> 436 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:53,120 <i>forming the chimneys,</i> <i>and creating the black smoke.</i> 437 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,800 <i>When you see black smoke,</i> <i>what you're really seeing</i> 438 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,840 <i>is a blowtorch of</i> <i>superheated water.</i> 439 00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:34,000 Uh, we're getting in position to get a water sample 440 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,320 from the top of one of these structures. Over. 441 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,440 <i>(Jim on radio) Yeah, roger that.</i> <i>That's good.</i> 442 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:48,000 OK, let's get in as close as we can on this chimney, Genya. 443 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:52,160 <i>(Maya) These chimneys</i> <i>reach 750 degrees Fahrenheit,</i> 444 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:56,360 <i>and that's hot enough to melt</i> <i>the windows of your submersible.</i> 445 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,680 <i>That's a bad thing.</i> 446 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:03,560 <i>Mental note: don't melt</i> <i>the windows of the submersible.</i> 447 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,800 <i>(Maya) </i>Guys, we're getting really close to this black smoker here. 448 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,200 - Close enough? - I think this is maybe a little too close. 449 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:15,040 Uh, well, we're starting to get into the plume. 450 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:17,680 <i>(Maya) </i>Right underneath the sub. 451 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,400 <i>(Jim) Genya, move back.</i> <i>You better move back.</i> 452 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,560 <i>(Genya) </i>OK. I start to move back. 453 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:33,600 <i>(Mike on radio) That's normal.</i> <i>We usually drive right in 'em like that.</i> 454 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:38,040 We were right on top of it. That was a little freaky. 455 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,280 That's pretty cool, Kevin. 456 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:54,000 <i>(Dijanna) The geology's fascinating.</i> <i>But it's not why I came out here.</i> 457 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:59,920 <i>(Dijanna) Keldysh, Keldysh, </i>MIR Two. We are on the bottom. 458 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,080 Depth 3526 meters. 459 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:07,160 And we are at the top of the Moose structure. Over. 460 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,200 <i>(Dijanna) These sites were</i> <i>first visited 25 years ago by geologists.</i> 461 00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:17,080 <i>And they weren't looking for life.</i> 462 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,080 <i>But it wasn't until</i> <i>they got into a submersible</i> 463 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:26,080 <i>and went down to the bottom</i> <i>to see with their own eyes...</i> 464 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:32,040 <i>It was like, "Oh, my God.</i> <i>There's life down here, and it's beautiful."</i> 465 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,360 <i>It's an entire ecosystem.</i> 466 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:39,760 Wow. That's awesome. 467 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,240 <i>(Dijanna on radio) Copy that. That's what</i> <i>we're imaging right now. Over.</i> 468 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:53,960 - <i>(Dijanna) </i>Look at all that hot water. - <i>(Jim) </i>They're right in the flow. 469 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:00,080 Oh, man. Check this out. 470 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:06,040 It's like liquid fire, and these guys are dancing right next to it. 471 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:09,480 They are really tickling the dragon's tail. 472 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,920 <i>(Dijanna) The science community</i> <i>was stunned.</i> 473 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:18,760 <i>How could these animals</i> <i>be living in these toxic chemicals,</i> 474 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:22,320 <i>at these pressures,</i> <i>around extremes of temperature</i> 475 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:26,280 <i>from freezing to beyond boiling</i> <i>in just a few inches?</i> 476 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:34,040 <i>How could there be a whole ecosystem</i> <i>living without sunlight?</i> 477 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:39,880 <i>And not just living,</i> <i>but thriving!</i> 478 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,680 <i>(Jim) </i>Unbelievable. 479 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:50,600 This is the most insane amount of biomass I ever saw in my life. 480 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:52,240 <i>(Dijanna) </i>Wow. 481 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,800 - Holy pancakes, Batman. - <i>(Jim laughs)</i> 482 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:08,000 And they're right there in the flow, just enjoying the hydrothermal fluid. 483 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:11,320 <i>(Jim) </i>Oh, look at 'em swarming. They love it in the smoke. 484 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:13,360 <i>(Dijanna) </i>Oh, yeah. 485 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:18,400 <i>(Dijanna) The vents</i> <i>were providing the energy for life.</i> 486 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,280 <i>It was coming from chemicals</i> <i>dissolved in the water,</i> 487 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,480 <i>coming from inside the Earth itself.</i> 488 00:42:24,560 --> 00