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An oasis of life, a new ecosystem discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean!

Article bay
3 min readOct 26, 2022

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A team of divers has discovered a previously unknown new ecosystem in the Maldives. It is located 500 meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean, where large fish congregate to eat so-called micronekton.

[Photo by Neha Pandey]

The planet’s oceans are still a largely unexplored area. It is estimated that we have learned only less than 5% of this part of the world. The depths hide their secrets from humans. It is an extraordinary world inhabited by countless marine creatures. Discoveries by scientists at every turn prove to us how small we are in the face of the vastness of the Earth’s hydrosphere.

Micronekton trapped in a new ecosystem in the Maldives

Scientists from the University of Oxford, who were part of an underwater expedition called “The Nekton Maldives Mission,” added their contribution to ocean research. The researchers explored the ocean floor in the Maldives aboard the Omega Seamaster II submarine. At one point, at a depth of 500 meters, they found an unusual environment in which large fish, including sharks and tuna, were feeding. The experts took a series of video recordings, collected biological samples and mapped the area with sonar.

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