http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211100758.htm
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A whole lot of ocean junk into our planet's bodies of water every year. I don't know the exact number but I can guess that it's an astounding amount. We used to think that this was polluting and destroying life, but little did we know that tiny single-celled organisms called "foraminifera" are using our trash to make themselves a home at the bottom of the ocean. This data has been documented from Challenger's Deep, which is the deepest documented point on Earth, located in the Mariana Trench. This is a whopping 11 kilometers into the ocean deep!
To make this fantastic discovery, scientists used the vehicle KAIKO operated via remote control by JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology). They wanted to take samples of sediment on the ocean bottom, but they ended up finding these cute little foraminifera instead.
Professor Andrew Gooday of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) even says that "at these great depths, particles made from biologically formed calcite and silica, as well as minerals such as quartz, should dissolve, leaving only clay grains available for test building" (Gooday 1). We all know about extremophiles that live in harsh environments such as intense salinity or intense heat, but now they should add another category for organisms living in conditions with pressure so high, that sedimentary rocks are forming. They managed to find the foraminifera amongst the shells of other organisms and minerals.
Now that scientists know about the adorable foraminifera, they can continue their silly research project on silly little ocean creatures that live in places we never will. Yay science.
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