Deep Sea Expedition Yields a 'Yellow Brick Road' Discovery in the Depths of the Pacific Ocean

Can the yellow brick road in the Pacific Ocean lead us to the Wizard of Oz?

An ancient dried-up lake bed that appears to be a yellow brick road has been discovered during an exploration of a deep-sea ridge just north of the Hawaiian Islands, reported first by ScienceAlert.

The mysterious sight was stumbled upon early this year by the exploration ship Nautilus as it surveyed the Lili'uokalani ridge within Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument (PMNM).

Large Marine Conservation Area

ScienceAlert noted that only around 3% of PMNM's seafloor has been explored, which means that this area holds a lot of mysteries and wonders waiting to be unraveled.

But most importantly, the seafloor is considered to be one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world, bigger than all of the national parks in the US put together.

This eerie yet fascinating area is located more than 3,000 meters below the ocean and it was recently explored to its limits by researchers at the Ocean Exploration Trust.

However, you can also immerse yourself in such an exciting discovery since the team released a video of the yellow brick road.

The moment that researchers piloting the deep-sea vehicle stumbled onto the road to Oz is captured in a highlight reel of the expedition's video that was uploaded to YouTube in April 2022.

On the radio, a researcher can be heard saying that it's the way to Atlantis. Another person said that it was "the yellow brick road."

Unexpectedly Dry

The lake bed that the scientists found on the summit of the Nootka seamount is unexpectedly dry considering that it was buried beneath roughly 1,000 meters of water. The team remarks over the radio that the ground resembles a "baked crust" that could be pulled off.

They also found a volcanic rock broken in one little area in a way that resembles bricks.

The unusual 90° cracks are probably caused by heating and cooling stress from numerous eruptions at this baked border, according to the research team.

They also tested basalts with ferromanganese (iron-manganese) crusts at various depths and oxygen saturations along the seamount chain, as well as a pumice rock that appears like a sponge.

"Our exploration of this never-before-surveyed area is helping researchers take a deeper look at life on and within the rocky slopes of these deep, ancient seamounts," the research team said in a video description.

Researchers are examining the microbial communities that live on and within the ferromanganese crusts that cover rock surfaces, as well as how the features of the crusts vary from area to region in ocean basins.

The Nautilus team claims that these studies will contribute to the establishment of baseline data on the seamount's living communities, which can guide management and conservation efforts.