Just like there arewaterfalls underneath oceans, there can be lakes on seabed too.
These salt beds still exist under the Gulf and the southern United States as far north as Arkansas.
But they have been broken into two parts when the region rifted apart.
With water came more sediments and the salt layer got buried deeper and deeper.
This is known as salt tectonics.
This is the brine pool.
These lakes within oceans producethe same effectwe see in above ground lakes.
Its only by the use of thrusters they can penetrate the pools.
Sometimes when the salt dome is trying to break through the overlying sediment they hit pockets of hydrocarbon deposits.
The brine pools that form out of these domes have methane bubbling through the dense saline water.
The sediment surrounding the mussel bed is also often covered with bacterial mats.
While mussels thrive along the pool’s edge, the brine itself is toxic to most sea creatures.
The lakes contain almost no oxygen and is far too saline for animals to survive.
The hypersaline brine solution often turns these unfortunate animals into pickles.
On one occasion, researchers found a crab estimated to be dead for8 yearswith soft tissue still intact.
A brine pool is surrounded by a bed of mussels living with methane-consuming bacteria in the sediment.
Photo credit:NautilusLive
A crab that fell into the pit of despair preserved by the brine.
Photo credit:NautilusLive
Pit of despair claims another victim.
Photo credit:NautilusLive
Photo credit:NautilusLive
