SECRETS HIDDEN UNDER THE ARCTIC ICE

One of the least understood ecosystems on Earth is the underwater world of the Arctic. Detailed maps of the Arctic Ocean floor have yet to be compiled. In March 1999, the American nuclear submarine Hawkbill sailed there.

On board were researchers intent on characterizing one of the world's strangest geological structures—the so-called Gakkel Rift, up to five kilometers deep, located near the North Pole and stretching 1,770 kilometers from Greenland toward Siberia. The group of scientists was led by Margo Edwards, a professor at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Paleontology.

The Arctic expedition yielded many important findings. The Hawkbill crew created the first three-dimensional map of the rift. They also found that the continental plates here are moving the slowest on the planet, at about 1 cm per year—several times slower than other rifts, such as the largest—the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—which stretches across the Atlantic for several thousand kilometers. This is why, although the distance between Europe and America is rapidly increasing, Siberia has not moved much further from Alaska in recent millions of years.

Another 30-person Arctic expedition towards the great rift at the North Pole set off in 2001 on the research icebreakers Polarstern, the German and Healy, the American.

Scientists have photographed more than 1,500 previously unknown animals in the deep sea between New Zealand and Australia.

Once again, the Gakkel Rift didn't disappoint scientists. It proved to be a place hiding exceptional treasures. In the eastern part of the fissure, large hydrothermal vents flow from which lava heats and enriches the water with minerals. Temperatures there reach 200-600°C. Life thrives in these conditions. Tiny microorganisms and larger creatures, such as shrimp, clams, crabs, and various worms, can be found here. However, there are no plants in these hydrothermal oases because light doesn't reach them.

The American-German expedition from the National Science Foundation and the German Forschungsgemeinschaft published its findings only this year. "I haven't encountered anything like this in 20 years of exploring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge," enthused Professor Langmuir of Columbia University (USA), one of the mission leaders, about the abundance of life in the hydrothermal vents. Scientists also found clusters of hydrothermal vents in the eastern part of the rift, near the shallows of the Laptev Sea, and underwater volcanoes near Greenland.

Today, we send probes to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system. We listen for signals from space, hoping to contact an alien civilization. You don't have to work at NASA to be an explorer. Just look around Earth.