SCIENTISTS have discovered mysterious “death pools” that destroy all life where the Bible says Moses parted the Red Sea.
Just below the sea surface in the Gulf of Aqaba are obscure pools of brine which kill any life caught up in them.
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These natural death traps are 10 times as salty as regular sea water, which is already 3.5 per cent salt, and severely lacks oxygen.
Scientists from the University of Miami uncovered the bizarre find while operating a remote underwater vehicle (ROV).
The ROV was exploring the sea bed for 10 hours and the brine pools were only spotted in the last five minutes of the investigation.
Professor Sam Purkis told Live Science: “We were very lucky.
“The discovery came in the last five minutes of the ten-hour ROV dive that we could dedicate to this project.”
Researchers noticed a “desolate seabed thickly draped with mud” as the sea bed search came to an end, leading them straight to the salty death traps.
The pools were found 4,000 feet below the surface and are said to mimic the merciless conditions of early Earth.
Any creature that currently lives there would be classed as “extremophiles” as they’re able to survive in an incredibly difficult living environment.
Single-celled organisms called prokaryotes were spotted there as well as sulphate-reducing bacteria.
The latter turns sulphate into energy which changes the elemental make-up of the pools so drastically that the sulphate to chloride in the brine was the lowest ever recorded in the area.
Eels, shrimp, and molluscs were also seen lurking in the murky depths.
Purkis added: “Our current understanding is that life originated on Earth in the deep sea, almost certainly in anoxic — without oxygen — conditions.
“Deep-sea brine pools are a great analog for the early Earth and, despite being devoid of oxygen and hypersaline, are teeming with a rich community of so-called ‘extremophile’ microbes.”
Researchers were thrilled to have come across these pools as they’re very rare, with only around 40 discovered ever.
By inspecting the undisturbed sediment, scientists are able to get a glimpse of the region’s history.
Details about tsunamis, flash floods, and earthquakes can be uncovered by carefully examining the sea floor.
The Gulf has long been considered a mysterious location as it’s extremely deep and often affected by volcanic activity.
It’s also mentioned in the Bible as the region where Moses parted the Red Sea when leading the Israelites to the Promised Land.
The coastline is divided among four countries –Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia and sits at the northern tip of the Red Sea.
Given that the Gulf of Aqaba is deeper and wider than other parts of the Red Sea it could be where the Book of Exodus describes Moses’ voyage.
Passages describe the journey including walking through the wilderness before arriving the famous coast.
That is because the Gulf of Aqaba is deeper and wider than other regions of the Red Sea, which could align with the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus.
The Bible also shares how the Israelites travelled through the wilderness before reaching the sea, and some routes near Aqaba may fit the description.
Using data from the sediment, scientists were able to gauge what kind of weather events occurred in the region over the past 1,000 years.
They calculated an “unbroken record of past rainfall” and reports of earthquakes and tsunamis.
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