Scientists have recorded a wealth of life in a new system found in the north-east Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea. (Image credit: Professor S.N. Weidong and colleagues, 2025)
Experts from China have discovered a large-scale hydrothermal structure in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, previously unknown to science, which could reveal the secrets of the origin of biological forms.
Located northeast of Papua New Guinea, the Kunlun system includes 20 large crater formations, the largest of which is 1,800 meters in diameter and 130 meters deep. These structures, united in the so-called “pipe swarm”, emit significant volumes of hydrogen, which serves as the energy base for local ecosystems.
Kunlun has similarities with the Atlantic hydrothermal field “Lost City”, located on the underwater massif of Atlantis. However, the Chinese system has unique characteristics, including gigantic size. According to a study in Science Advances on August 8, the area of Kunlun is about 11 km², which is hundreds of times larger than the Atlantic analogue.
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(Image courtesy of Professor SUN Weidong et al., 2025)
Inside large craters, scientists have discovered numerous miniature tubular formations.
(Image courtesy of Professor SUN Weidong et al., 2025)
Dwarf lobsters, sea anemones and shrimps (pictured here is an individual on a rock) have been recorded among the inhabitants.
Kunlun makes it possible to study serpentinization, the reaction of seawater with mantle rocks that results in the formation of green serpentine minerals and the release of hydrogen.
Scientists hope to explore the connection between hydrogen emissions and the emergence of life in this system. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the composition of liquids in Kunlun is similar to the chemical conditions of early Earth.
“The ecological potential of the system is particularly interesting,” said study co-author Weidong Sun of the Institute of Oceanology. “We have documented a variety of deep-sea species here – shrimp, lobsters, sea anemones and tube worms – that likely depend on hydrogen-based chemosynthesis for their survival.”
Because there is no sunlight in the deep ocean, organisms there cannot use photosynthesis. Instead, they rely on chemosynthesis, converting chemicals such as hydrogen into energy.
Another Chinese expedition recently used a manned submersible to study chemosynthetic communities at depths of 9,500 meters in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Such ecosystems are rarely studied because the ocean floor is poorly explored.
In the current project, scientists used a similar apparatus to map Kunlun and study its four largest craters. Analysis of hydrogen concentrations showed that the system produces more than 5% of the world's abiogenic underwater hydrogen—an impressive figure for a single object.
Experts suggest that the formation of the tubular swarm occurred in stages: first, the subsurface accumulation of hydrogen caused powerful explosions, then cracks in the structures provoked new emissions, after which mineral deposits blocked the faults, creating conditions for the repeated accumulation of gas.
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Unlike volcanic hydrothermal systems at plate boundaries (such as black smokers with temperatures up to 400°C), serpentinizing systems, including Kunlun and the Lost City, have temperatures below 90°C.
Kunlun also differs in location: while the “Lost City” is located near the mid-ocean ridge, the Chinese system is located inside the plate, far from tectonic faults.
“The Kunlun is notable for its record-breaking hydrogen flow, its scale, and its unusual geological position,” Sun said. “This proves that serpentinization is possible outside the mid-mountain ranges, which changes existing scientific understanding.”
Patrick Pester, Social Links Navigator, Popular News Writer
Patrick Pester is a renowned science journalist whose work has appeared in BBC Science Focus and Scientific American. Having switched careers from zoos to journalism, he holds masters degrees from Cardiff and Middlesex Universities. In his spare time, he studies the archaeological artefact trade.
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