The Peculiar Life of Cold Seeps

468,643
0
Published 2022-05-17
Chemosynthetic Oases | Deep Sea Cold Seeps. 🌍 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here: nordvpn.com/naturalworldfacts It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! ✌️

The geological origins of cold seeps differ from hydrothermal vents. While vents form from volcanic activity at sea-floor spreading regions, cold seeps instead arise at the other end of oceanic plates, where they are subducted at the continental margin. Their formation begins with the burial of organic material under sediments on the sea-floor. These organic compounds degrade over time, producing methane. Over time, geological processes such as the tectonic compression of sediments at subduction zones forces the methane from deep reservoirs up through the overlying sediments. Anaerobic microbes dwelling below the sediment surface oxidise this methane using sulphate, producing hydrogen sulphide and bicarbonate ions as a byproduct. This hydrogen sulphide, along with any residual methane, then serves as a vital energy source for *chemosynthetic* microbes. Thus, it is a consortium of two distinct sets of microbes that makes primary productivity possible at cold seeps and lay the foundations of food webs here. The result is an environment remarkably similar to hydrothermal vents. We have a flux of sulphide and methane at the sea-floor, chemosynthetic microbes using these compounds, and an abundance of life exploiting this primary productivity, fulfilling similar ecological niches and forming biodiversity hotspots in the deep sea.

Part 1 - Hydrothermal Vents:    • Hydrothermal Vents | Oases in the Dee...  
Part 3 - Wood-falls and Food-falls:    • Deep-Sea Food Falls | A Tale of Wood ...  

00:00 - An Introduction to Cold Seeps
01:57 - Cold Seep Origins - Formation
03:28 - Cold Seep Origins - Seep Biodiversity
04:28 - Life at Cold Seeps - Bathymodiolus Mussels
05:02 - Life at Cold Seeps - Grazing Organisms
05:23 - Life at Cold Seeps - Siboglinid Tube Worms
07:13 - Life at Cold Seeps - Yeti Crabs
07:50 - Life at Cold Seeps - Predatory Organisms
08:20 - Life at Cold Seeps - The Benthic Filter
09:05 - Seep Varieties - Overview
09:47 - Seep Varieties - Mud Volcanoes
10:44 - Seep Varieties - Methane Hydrate Beds
12:57 - Seep Varieties - Asphalt Seeps
14:08 - Seep Varieties - Tar Lilies
15:47 - Seep Varieties - Brine Pools
17:29 - Ecological Succession - Carbonate Reefs
19:10 - Succession Stage I - Microbial Mats and Mussel Beds
19:50 - Succession Stage II - Tube Worm Bushes
20:02 - Succession Stage III - Carbonate Blockage
20:37 - Successional Stage IV - Coral Gardens
21:15 - Conclusion

CHECK OUT MY DEEP SEA WEBSITE: naturalworldfacts.com/deep-sea-hub/

Written, Narrated and Edited by Leo Richards
Seep Animation custom made by Fabio Albertelli and Jakub Misiek

I do not own any of the footage. I write the script, narrate, and edit what footage I can find, which is allowed due to YouTube's 'Fair Use' policy as these films are transformative and for educational purposes. Footage used belongs to the incredible marine conservation societies of Schmidt Ocean Institute, MBARI, WHOI and the Ocean Exploration Institute, along with various other YouTube sources. Most footage is used with explicit permission of the copyright owner. In cases where I cannot contact the owner or have not received a reply, I use certain clips in accordance with the Fair Use policy.

Music Used:
Ascend (reworked) by Christopher Galovan
Their Souls by Piotr Hummel
Mysa by Laurel Violet
Folklore by Ardie Son
Stories from the Sky by Sid Acharya
Nocturnal by LEMMINO
In Love with Emi by Fabien Fustinoni
Corals Under the Sun by Yehezkel Raz
Landing on the Ground by Yehezkel Raz

#deepsea #wildlife #nature #documentary #ocean #marinebiology #science #biology

Bibliography:

Cordes, E.E., Bergquist, D.C. and Fisher, C.R., 2009. Macro-ecology of Gulf of Mexico cold seeps. Annual Review of Marine Science, 1, pp.143-168.

FiShER, C., Roberts, H., Cordes, E. and Bernard, B., 2007. Cold seeps and associated communities of the Gulf of Mexico. Oceanography, 20(4), pp.118-129.

Sasaki, T., Warén, A., Kano, Y., Okutani, T. and Fujikura, K., 2010. Gastropods from recent hot vents and cold seeps: systematics, diversity and life strategies. The vent and seep biota, pp.169-254.

Suess, E., 2020. Marine cold seeps: background and recent advances. Hydrocarbons, Oils and Lipids: Diversity, Origin, Chemistry and Fate, pp.747-767

All Comments (21)
  • @goshdarn5943
    These videos are always such high quality, and his voice is always so soothing! The perfect thing to watch after feeling stressed, or to fall asleep to!
  • @AstrumEspanol
    Another great documentary with outstanding narration 🥰
  • The thing that fascinates me so much about hydrothermal vents and cold seeps is how much they show that our planet, even far below the surface, is alive in a way and creating life all the time. There is very little footage that is more satisfying to me than a cluster of tube worms extending and contracting their frills. Another amazingly entertaining and educational video. I am really looking forward to Part 3 of this series. Thank you so much for all your hard work to create such high quality content.
  • @skylarcrazher
    for anyone like me who was heartbroken at 12:45 ,,, i read somewhere that the layer that forms is usually not very thick unless they sit there and keep agitating the bubbles, and generally they can scrape the icy layer off, so it's not doom for them, just a weird little experience :')
  • @MRptwrench
    Cold seeps make me think of extraterrestrial environments capable of sustaining life forms. The possibility of finding life under the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa is the first thing that comes to mind. *yes, the hydrothermal vents here on Earth are also incredibly fascinating. I'm not playing favorites!
  • @XYZ-td6sn
    I’m not the type to comment things like this normally, but hey it can’t hurt. I’ve recently gone through a tough breakup after moving to sunny South America with my boyfriend, meaning I’m losing a lot of my new life and about to be moving back to our miserable, gloomy little island of a home country, a prospect which terrifies me and in recent times left me feeling down enough that the unthinkable became a possibility. But then, I found you and your channel, and for the first time in so long I’ve felt that warm comfortable feeling in my chest again, every video is a trip to somewhere more peaceful and quiet where I don’t have to think contemplate, fight or question anything. Just peace. So genuinely from the bottom of my heart (and as a fellow Brit), thank you for all that you’ve done here, you’ve helped someone begin to get out of a very dark place.
  • I adore the fact you can watch each episode individually without having watched the others. You always set up the basics in such an easy way to understand, great job!
  • I found this channel yesterday and its all ive been watching since! Cant express enough how amazing the production and research for these videos are. And all the footage!! Who knew a place that seems lifeless is so colorful and active!?!
  • Oh, I've been positively obsessed with your videos about other marine ecosystems (especially the brine pools) so I'm thrilled to watch this one!
  • It’s so amazing that the animals living at both some of the hottest and coldest environments in the world are so closely related.
  • Why does this only have 73K views? This level of production quality deserves SO much more.
  • @PKNWP
    This might be a small detail for many other people but thank you for removing the high pitched beeping sound from your transition graphics. They always startled me and felt like a jarring contrast to your soothing voice and the music.
  • @BadYossa
    Excellent presentation, as ever. Really admire the quality of your productions and your ability to present some complex processes simply and accurately. Outstanding channel Leo đź‘Ť
  • @bornstellar1519
    While recovering from several surgeries, these videos were how I kept my sanity. I still come back to your channel often, at the end of a long day to relax and unwind. Thanks for awesome content!
  • Yet another fantastic view of seafloor habitats! Beautiful footage, great music, and I love the captions on the screen. This series is on par with the best nature documentaries I have ever seen. Please continue your important work!
  • Amazing video as always Leo! The Tar Lillie's segment especially engrossed me, your editing there was spot on and really encapsulated how incredible the formations are.
  • Leo, I'm going to keep saying it, you are providing quality documentaries way beyond anything seen elsewhere. Thank you
  • i keep having severe panic attacks and this channel is one of the few things i can focus on to calm down that doesnt overwhelm me. it helps reminds me that even if i die suddenly, everything dies eventually, and yet life as a whole continues on.