There's a unique "Lost City" in the Atlantic Ocean. Life on Earth might have originated there
At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, lies one of the most unusual places on Earth — a hydrothermal field known as the "Lost City". It is a collection of massive limestone towers and columns rising from the seafloor at a depth of more than 700 meters. The tallest of them reaches about 60 meters — roughly the height of a twenty-story building, writes Science Alert.
A remotely operated underwater vehicle illuminates the spires of the "Lost City". Photo: D. Kelley/UW/URI-IAO/NOAA
Scientists believe that such an environment could have been one of the cradles of life on Earth.
The "Lost City" was discovered in 2000 using deep-sea research vehicles and remains unique: no analogs of such a complex have yet been found in the World Ocean. Researchers estimate that hydrothermal activity in this area has continued for at least 120,000 years, and possibly much longer.
Unlike well-known underwater volcanic vents — so-called "black smokers" — the "Lost City" ecosystem exists due to chemical reactions between seawater and rocks from the Earth's mantle. The carbonate structures here are much larger, indicating their long-term activity.
Strands of bacteria living on a calcite vent in the "Lost City". Photo: University of Washington/CC BY 3.0
As a result of these chemical processes, hydrogen, methane, and other gases are released into the water. They serve as an energy source for microbial communities that live in the pores and fissures of the towers, requiring neither sunlight nor oxygen. The fluid temperature is relatively low — about 40 degrees Celsius — but this is enough for the existence of a complex ecosystem. Near the vents, bacteria, mollusks, and crustaceans can be found, while larger animals, such as crabs or eels, are much rarer.
The "Lost City" is of particular interest to scientists studying the origin of life. The hydrocarbons formed here are the result of geochemical processes on the ocean floor, not photosynthesis or interaction with atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Since hydrocarbons are the basis of living organisms, this strengthens the hypothesis that life could have arisen in similar conditions even before the appearance of an oxygen atmosphere on Earth.
In 2024, researchers conducted a record-breaking drilling in this area and obtained a core of mantle rocks more than 1.2 kilometers long. Analysis of these samples may help reconstruct the chemical processes that occurred billions of years ago and better understand how non-living matter could have transformed into living matter.
A nine-meter pipe in the "Lost City". Photo: University of Washington/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Scientists also suggest that similar ecosystems may exist beyond Earth — for example, on Saturn's and Jupiter's moons or on Mars in the past. If life is capable of existing without sunlight, then such chemically active environments might be the most favorable for it.
However, this unique place is also threatened by human activity. In 2018, it became known that Poland received permission to explore and extract minerals in deep-sea areas near the "Lost City". Although the field itself is not a direct target for development, any intervention could have unpredictable consequences: sediments or emissions could damage this delicate world.
Therefore, more and more specialists are calling for the inclusion of the "Lost City" in the UNESCO World Heritage List to preserve this unique natural wonder before it's too late.
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