Imagine a place almost two kilometers below the sea surface. Its always dark-there is absolutely no sunlight. Scientists used to think that animals couldn't live without the suns energy As a result, they never expected to find living creatures down there. But they did CHANGING OLD iDEAS In 1977, scientists got a surprise. Something was bubbling at the bottom of the ocean. They had found deep sea vents, home to amazing and unusual animals. Jonathan Eisen, one of the scientists investigating the vents, emphasized the discovery's importance. "It told us that life can thrive.' Not just grow a little bit, but actually thrive even in the absence2 of light" The vents are home to a huge number of creatures. On average, scientists have discovered a new o species every 10 days since 1979. Timothy Shank, a marine ecologist, calls the number of nev species boggling." "We're still on the tip of the iceberg," he says THE VALUE oF THE DiscoVERY The discovery was important for another reason. Scientists used to think animals couldn't live in temperatures above 55 oC 3 But the deep sea vents are that hot-sometimes even hotter. The discovery of life in such an extreme environment made scientists review some of their ideas about the places in which life is possible. They hope the vents will give them more information about early life on Earth. Other scientists are looking into space. They believe that if life can survive in the vents, it might give us hope to find life beyond Earth. thrives,