Today we learned about the composition of the earth and how it affects the study of marine biology. We first startedtalking about the theory of continental drift. I hadn’t realized how much evidence there was to support that theory, such as the fact that fossils of the same organisms have been found in Africa and South America. We then started talking about how plates interact with each other. I realized that one of the plates in the Pacific Ocean was sinking under another plate, a process called subduction, and one day would eventually disappear. We also talked about how when two oceanic plates pull apart, the mantle bubbles up and becomes new crust.
At first I didn’t understand why we were learning about plate tectonics in a marine biology course, but then I realized that marine life can be more affected by the earths movements than people are. One such way is through hydrothermic vents. This is where superheated rock is brought close to the surface and is then rapidly cooled by the ocean. This forms “smoke” that is nutruent rich. Marine animals use these nutrients to survive, sometimes without any light at all. People still don’t know much about these animals, but I think that these animmals, living in these extreme conditions, might provide some glimse into how life on our earth began, and where to look for extraterrestrial life as well.
