Much of humanity has been working for the past year to rebuild the shattered lives and infrastructure laid waste by last DecemberÂ’s devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean. For the first time however, we are getting a glimpse at the damage suffered by the deep-sea ecosystem at one site near the epicenter of the 9.3 earthquake. Needless to say, the jellyfish and cephalopods were not happy either.

An example of deep-sea life: female anglerfish

A dead zone, devoid of all marine life, has been discovered near the epicentre of last year’s tsunami earthquake, 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean.

The first scientific expedition to the epicentre found little or no effect on deep sea fauna except at one site off Sumatra where, five months after the disaster, no evidence was found of large animals.

British scientists taking part in the Census of Marine Life, a worldwide marine survey, made an 11-hour dive with a robot submarine. [Link]

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The Census of Marine Life is a group of scientists engaged in an important ten year study:

Through 2010, scientists worldwide will work to quantify what is known, unknown, and what may never be known about the world’s oceans-which comprise more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and more than 90 percent of its biosphere. Their answers will help identify threatened species and important breeding areas, helping authorities develop effective strategies for the sustainable management of marine resources. New pharmaceuticals and industrial compounds are also among the potential uses of the estimated thousands of undescribed species that will be found. And as the secrets of the planet’s last unexplored frontier are revealed, our understanding of elemental processes such as climate, evolution, extinction, and migration will expand.

This is quite an amazing discovery. Life is normally incredibly resilient. For example, organisms classified as hyperthermophiles can survive next to undersea hot water vents at temperatures upwards of 113°C. Likewise, we have found organisms in frozen lakes under 4 km of Antarctic ice. For the scientists to discover a completely devastated sea floor months after the quake is unexpected and a testament to the power of this particular quake. The effects seemed to have propagated up the food chain until the largest of critters were no more.

“Normally, when you go to the bottom of the sea anywhere and take a sample or look around, there’s always something alive,” Professor O’Dor said. “But five months after the earthquake, this entire plain, created by the collapse of the cliff, was essentially devoid of life.”

The group had expected to find several species of fish, plus cephalopods, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, corals and sponges, crustaceans and worms.

Professor O’Dor thought the collapsing cliff had buried the food sources of bottom feeders, which in turn had an effect on larger predators. “No one has ever got to a site like this so quickly before,” he said. “It may just be that it takes a while for things to get back to normal. The sea is very cold at this depth, and typically the speed of life is proportional to temperature. Nothing happens very fast at 4°C…” [Link]