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posted by Fnord666 on Monday May 13 2019, @10:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the rust-ish dept.

This shrimplike creature makes aluminum armor to survive the deep sea's crushing pressure

Amphipods—small, shrimplike crustaceans in most aquatic ecosystems—start to fall apart once they hit depths of 4500 meters. There, a combination of crushing pressures, low temperature, and higher acidity causes the calcium carbonate in their exoskeletons to dissolve, making them vulnerable to pressure and predators. Now, scientists have discovered how one species, Hirondellea gigas, can survive in the deepest part of the ocean: with aluminum suits of armor.

Researchers first analyzed H. gigas specimens found at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, more than 10,000 meters below the surface of the ocean. They found that this extreme amphipod constructs a personal suit of armor—a layer of aluminum hydroxide gel covering the surface of its exoskeleton. But aluminum isn't abundant in ocean water, making it hard to source as a building material. It is, however, abundant in ocean sediment.

An aluminum shield enables the amphipod Hirondellea gigas to inhabit deep-sea environments (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206710) (DX)


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  • (Score: 2) by corey on Tuesday May 14 2019, @10:51AM

    by corey (2202) on Tuesday May 14 2019, @10:51AM (#843338)

    Yeah true.

    You can only imagine the pressure at these depths. If you are snorkelling and dive down 4 or 5m, you start to really feel the pressure. Imagine 10 000m down.

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