An ecosystem has been discovered off the coast of Greenland at a depth of more than 3.6 km.

In the Arctic Ocean, at a depth of more than 3.6 km, scientists have discovered a unique ecosystem formed around massive hills of crystallized methane. This is stated in a study published on December 25 in the journal Scientific American.

We are talking about the so-called Freya hydrate hills, located off the coast of Greenland. These structures consist of frozen gases and act as a kind of "frozen reefs", creating a shelter for deep—sea organisms adapted to extreme conditions - complete absence of light, low temperatures and high pressure.

The discovery was made as part of the Ocean Census Arctic Deep–EXTREME24 expedition using underwater robots. Scientists have recorded the deepest gas hydrate formations known to date — at a depth of 3640 m. In addition, methane flares come out of the hills, rising to a height of 3,300 m in the water column, which has become a record for such structures.

The researchers note that hills are not stable formations.: over time, they break down and form anew. According to Juliana Panieri, a professor at the Arctic University of Norway, these structures are "living geological objects" that respond to tectonic processes, heat flows from the bowels of the Earth and environmental changes.

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Chemosynthetic organisms live around the hills — life forms that receive energy not from sunlight, but through chemical reactions. Some of the discovered species were previously found near hydrothermal vents, which indicates the possible connectivity of various extreme ecosystems in the Arctic.

According to John Copley, co-author of the study and professor at the University of Southampton, the identified links between cold barnacle ecosystems and hydrothermal vents underscore the need to protect such areas from the potential consequences of deep-sea mining.

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The Space publication reported on November 22 that moss, exposed to the harsh space environment for nine months, was able to survive and continue to grow after returning to Earth. This discovery shows that life that evolved on Earth has survival mechanisms even in the extreme conditions of space.

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