The NOAA science team stumbles upon an underwater salt lake, also known as a “brine pool.”

The NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer has been diving its ROV, D2, in the Gulf of Mexico this April. Here is a video clip of one of their awesome encounters in the depths of the Gulf. A brine pool is literally an undersea lake. The contact between salty ocean water and much saltier water (brine), means denser water liquid separates from the less dense ocean water. This saltier fluid sits and “pools” on the bottom. It’s so salty that it will erode the sediment it lies on, forming these pools. If any deep sea dwellers happen to stumble into this pool, they have no chance of getting out (and definitely no lifeguards to help!). It’s a geological anomaly for sure, but it’s a nightmare for any biology living in this normally pitch-black environment. However, those creatures that can acquire some “waterfront” property, while anchoring themselves safely, may reap some serious benefits.

Click play below to listen and learn about these eerily beautiful formations, and the creatures surviving on their deadly coastlines.

http://youtu.be/OiZnSb-u51E