Unprecedented discovery shows huge whale "graveyard" at the bottom of the ocean

Scientists have discovered the world's largest and deepest collection of whale remains at the bottom of the ocean, a place they call the "whale necropolis."

Located in the Diamantina Zone in the southeast Indian Ocean, at depths of up to 7,000 meters, the discovery includes both ancient fossils and active whale carcass ecosystems that have been forming for at least 5.3 million years.

The study, conducted by the Institute of Deepwater Science and Engineering (IDSSE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the University of Pisa in Italy and Earth Science New Zealand in Wellington, was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

The collapse occurs when dead whales sink to the bottom of the sea. These carcasses create rich temporary habitats for deep-sea creatures, supporting everything from bone-eating worms to sea stars. So far, most known whale crashes have been found at depths less than 4,000 meters, with the deepest active site recorded at 4,204 meters. No active whale fall ecosystems have been reported at hadal depths - which are those greater than 6,000 meters.

In 2023, an IDSSE-led team carried out 32 dives using the deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Effort), aboard the research vessel Tansuo-1. They explored a 1,200-kilometer stretch of the Diamantina Zone and found five active whale carcasses and 476 fossil sites, at depths ranging from 4,616 to 7,001 meters. The density of whale remains reached 759.5 individuals per square kilometer.

Using strontium isotope dating, the researchers confirmed that the fossils found there date back at least 5.3 million years, to the beginning of the Pliocene. These include living species of beaked whales, such as the Andrews' beaked whale and the strap-toothed beaked whale, and extinct species, including a newly described species called Pterocetus diamantinae.

The research effort was supported by several scientific programs, including the Hadal Global Exploration Program, a ten-year United Nations Decade of Oceans initiative led by IDSSE.

Source: CNN