Scientists at Cardiff University in the UK have explained where the life forms that live in the most mysterious depths of the ocean, called the twilight zone, came from. The researchers’ article was published in the journal Science.
Experts have shown that the cooling of the ocean over the past 15 million years has contributed to the emergence of new forms of marine organisms, including plankton, jellyfish, krill, squid and fish. Creatures living in the twilight zone live off organic matter that falls from the surface of the ocean and is used as food.
In their research, the team analyzed tiny fossilized shells obtained from silt at the bottom of the sea to see how deep-sea creatures changed and diversified over time. Scientists have received evidence of the migration of species from the surface to deeper and deeper regions of the oceans over 15 million years.
This is due to the fact that the depths of the ocean cooled, and the organic “snow” lasted longer and sank deeper and deeper. This contributed to the emergence of strange deep-sea forms of organisms. The results raise concerns about the future state of the ocean as it warms up due to global climate change, scientists say.