4 ms·
That was an enjoyable read, but the oldest ecosystems on Earth by far are the deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Many remain pristine and are quite possibly the origi
by timoth3y 2y ago
That was an enjoyable read, but the oldest ecosystems on Earth by far are the deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Many remain pristine and are quite possibly the origin of life on Earth.
- dredmorbius 2y agoWhilst agreed generally with the principle, there's ... a slight fly in that ointment: the seafloor is largely geologically young. The oldest seafloor is actually in one of the smaller seas: the Mediterranean, a relic of the earlier Tethys Sea, and is about 280 million years old. Most seafloors are only ~100--200m years old if that, and some basins (e.g, the Atlantic) only began to form ~170--200 mya. I'd agree that the ecological niche of deep-sea hydrothermal vents is quite possibly the oldest of any, and may have originated life on Earth, there are no particularly old extant deep-sea vents. By contrast there are continental strata which are many billions of years old. Some extant landforms, such as the Appalachian Mountains, are older than terrestrial life.