Even as space agencies around the world send missions to different corners of the solar system, it might be easy to forget that there is still so much we do not know about the ocean. A smooth golden orb found on the seafloor in Alaska reminds us that the oceans of the world still hold many mysteries untold.
The intriguing object was found on August 30, 2023, by personnel on the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Ship Okeanos Explorer. When the ship glided over a rocky outcrop about 3,300 metres below sea level, they found what was first described as a “yellow hat.”
The smooth, gold, dome-shaped orb measures about 10 centimetres in diameter and was found sticking tightly to a rock amidst a smattering of white sponges. The object has a small hole or tear near its base, which shows a similarly-coloured interior. Marine scientists admitted they could not identify the object as they zoomed in with cameras. It could be anything from a dead sponge attachment to a coral or even an egg casing of an unknown marine animal.
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When it was found, the team used a remote vehicle to “tickle” the egg, reports the Washington Post. After that, they used a gentle suction machine to remove the egg from the rock to study it better.
This unidentified specimen, photographed in the wet lab of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, was seen on August 30, 2023, during Dive 07 of the Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition.
“Isn’t the deep sea so delightfully strange? While we were able to collect the ‘golden orb’ and bring it onto the ship, we still are not able to identify it beyond the fact that it is biological in origin. We likely won’t learn more until we are able to get it into a laboratory setting where we can continue to pull from the collective expertise of the scientific community with more sophisticated tools than we are able to maintain on the ship,” said ” NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Sam Candio, coordinator for the expedition during which the golden orb was found.
Many species, including fish like sharks, lay their egg cases on the sea floor, according to The Guardian. This makes them less likely to be washed away by ocean currents. Even though DNA scientists could help identify which family of marine life the orb belongs to, it might not be possible to identify the precise species. This is because only a small portion of marine life has been sequenced.
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