Deep-Sea Life Without Sunlight
Contrast photosynthesis (energy from sunlight) with chemosynthesis (energy from oxidising chemicals like hydrogen sulphide); describe hydrothermal vent communities: chemoautotrophic bacteria form the base of a food web supporting tube worms, giant clams, and vent crabs with no sunlight; explore what deep-sea life tells us about the origin of life on Earth; explain why NASA studies ocean vents as analogues for potential life around hydrothermal activity on Europa and Enceladus
Typical age: 11–13 years
“Can your child describe a community of animals living at the bottom of the ocean that gets its energy from volcanic chemicals rather than sunlight — and explain why scientists are excited about what this might mean for life on other planets?”
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