Off The Record
Scientists Have Made A Startling Revelation About The Biblical Account Of Moses Parting The Red Sea
Natural death traps have been found on the seafloor by scientists sifting through the Red Sea’s depths.
Nearly 4,000 feet below the Gulf of Aqaba’s surface, they discovered brine pools that are up to ten times saltier than typical seawater and devoid of oxygen, effectively destroying any life that enters.
Scientists hypothesized that these harsh conditions are similar to those of early Earth, especially in the deep sea where life would have first appeared.
Only roughly 40 brine pools have been found in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the recently dubbed Gulf of America.
The scientists observed that because of the undisturbed sediment, the pools also serve as geological capsules, retaining traces of the Gulf of Aqaba’s past.
They will be able to view data on earthquakes, tsunamis, and flash floods that occurred in the area thousands of years ago.
When Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land, it is thought that he separated the waters in this area of the Red Sea, which is where the brine pools were discovered.
“The NEOM Brine Pools, as we name them, extend the known geographical range of Red Sea brine pools, and represent a unique preservational environment for the sedimentary signals of regional climatic and tectonic events,” the researchers said.
Because of its remarkable geological features—such as its tremendous depths, volcanic activity, and significant temperature changes at depth—the Gulf of Aqaba is regarded as mysterious.
Some experts believe that Moses separated the waters when he led the Israelites to the Promised Land in this area, which is an extended strip of the Red Sea that divides Saudi Arabia from the Egyptian Sinai.
This could be related to the tale of Moses in the Book of Exodus, as the Gulf of Aqaba is larger and deeper than other parts of the Red Sea.
Some of the paths close to Aqaba might meet the description of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness before reaching the sea, as described in the Bible.
However, over six weeks of investigating the depths with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), researchers from the University of Miami discovered another mystery.
Professor Sam Purkis said: “We were very lucky. The discovery came in the last five minutes of the ten-hour ROV dive that we could dedicate to this project.”
In those few moments, the ROV detected a “desolate seabed thickly draped with mud,” which led scientists to the brine pools.
This brine rests at the ocean’s bottom and is so dense that it is difficult for it to mix with the nearby salt water.
‘Brine pools’ can create odd underwater lakes and ponds in locations where saltwater wells up from the earth.
Scientists observed extremophile prokaryotes flourishing, although most other lifeforms would die the instant they floated inside.
These are unicellular creatures that thrive in harsh conditions such as high pressure, temperature, salt, acidity, or radiation.
Sulfate-reducing bacteria, which convert sulfate into energy, were also discovered by the scientists.
The ratio of sulfate to chloride in the brine is the lowest ever observed in the Gulf of Aqaba, according to scientists, who discovered that these bacteria had drastically lowered sulfate levels there.
This indicates that the bacteria are significantly altering the chemical composition of the water.
Despite the fact that most animals cannot survive in the pools, many of them congregate nearby because the bacteria provide them with food. Nearby mollusks, prawns, and eels were observed by the scientists.
In the study, the team also expressed their belief that the pools might provide hints about extraterrestrial life.
Purkis told Live Science: “Our current understanding is that life originated on Earth in the deep sea, almost certainly in anoxic — without oxygen — conditions.”
Despite being hypersaline and oxygen-free, deep-sea brine pools provide a wonderful analogy for the early Earth and are thriving with a rich colony of so-called ‘extremophile’ bacteria.
“Studying this community hence allows a glimpse into the sort of conditions where life first appeared on our planet, and might guide the search for life on other ‘water worlds’ in our solar system and beyond.”
“The team took core sample from the pools that represented ‘an unbroken record of past rainfall in the region, stretching back more than 1,000 years, plus records of earthquakes and tsunami,” Purkis said.
The findings painted a picture of weather events over the last 1,000 years, showing major floods from rain “occur about once every 25 years, and tsunamis [take place] about once every 100 years.”
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