This trail of crabs at the bottom of the sea are helping in a shocking scientific discovery

Finding a group of lobsters undersea might not seem unusual for many but to a team of scientists, it helped to make a major discovery. Scientists have been in search of a new hydrothermal vent field in the Western Galapagos Islands for the last 20 years. Now, thanks to a group of obliging squat lobsters they were able to find it, per IFL Science. 

In 2008, a team of researchers spotted a chemical anomaly that led them to start looking in the Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) region, according to Live Science. The research was started by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Last year, they came across this place which is bigger than a soccer pitch and is made of five geyser-like chimneys and three hot springs. It was because of the lobsters that the researchers were able to pin the vent field. The new field is between the Cocos and Nazca tectonic plates about 250 miles north of the Galapagos Islands.

Dr. Roxanne Beinart, one of the lead researchers said, "Scientists have known since the early 2000s that this vent field was likely there. But it was particularly hard to locate because the fluids are clear and do not emit large clouds into the water like black smokers do." The team also found tube worms in the balmy waters of the new fields which is being called, “Sendero del Cangrejo” or “Trail of the Crabs.” The discovery is the outcome of a 30-day expedition that started on August 13, 2023. It included Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, Falkor (too) with the Galápagos National Park Directorate, Charles Darwin Foundation and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute.

Dr. Jyotika Virmani, Executive Director at the Schmidt Ocean Institute said that this is the fourth hydrothermal vent field that they have found using their research vessel Falkor (too) since March including the discovery of a new animal ecosystem that they found under hydrothermal vents. She continued, "With 75 percent of the seafloor still to map, finding this new vent field shows how much we still have to learn about our planet and those who live on it. I am continually amazed by the otherworldly beauty of our seafloor and look forward to uncovering more.”

Talking about the significance of such projects, Stuart Banks, Senior Marine Scientist at the Charles Darwin Foundation told IFL Science, "Understanding and adding a better description of the distribution and unique nature of such deep-water hydrothermal communities is hugely important for the integral management of our oceans.” It is reportedly in a similar area where the first ever hydrothermal vent was found in the late 1970s, per UNILAD. These vents only occur in places with volcanic activity. It happens when there are cracks in the sea floor that let water come through the ocean crust and are heated by Earth's magma. The water is said to heat up to 400 C before it reaches back to the oceans through these vents.