Fantastic Movile cave, where there is a different atmosphere than the earth

Astronomers have unsuccessfully searched for traces of life in the Universe for more than a dozen years. At the same time, on the Earth itself there is a completely unique place where the other chemical composition of the atmosphere, unusual living conditions for us, but where life does not exist in the most primitive form. This is the Romanian cave Movile, whose habitat is often compared with life on another planet, there are so many unusual and strange in it.

As often happens with caves, the entrance to Movila was discovered by accident, and this happened in 1986. The cave's discoverer is Christian Lasku, who explored neighboring caves and, after diving into an underground pond, ended up in a previously unknown grotto. The discovery of another cave, which abounds in the vastness of Romania, would not be such a sensation, if not for one circumstance: scientists faced a unique animal world, a closed self-sufficient ecosystem, which has no analogues on our planet.

Moville's uniqueness lies in the chemical composition of air. If the Earth’s atmosphere contains 21% oxygen, then in Movil’s grottoes this figure does not exceed 10%. Instead of oxygen, there is an increased content of carbon dioxide, which reaches 3.5%, methane, which is 1-2%, as well as a large amount of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The last two gases are also present in the waters of the cave. But how can living organisms survive in such terrible conditions from the point of view of earthlings? After all, there is absolutely no sunlight necessary for photosynthesis, and in a toxic atmosphere not only bacteria live, but also spiders, insects and crustaceans. The ancestors of all these species were inhabitants of the tropical climate that reigned in Romania millions of years ago. As a result of geological changes, they were trapped in the underworld, where they existed in complete isolation for at least the last 500,000 years. Some of the witnesses to the disaster died, and the rest survived, evolved and successfully survived the ice age in a warm underground grotto.

At the moment, 48 species of living creatures have been found in the cave, and only 15 of them can be found outside of Moville, the rest are the exceptional inhabitants of this unique place. The basis of the food chain in the cave ecosystem is not plants, but bacteria that receive primary energy as a result of chemosynthesis. These bacteria form a breeding ground for more complex organisms, and at the top of the food pyramid are predators - spiders, scorpions, large insects. The animals in this cave are very peculiar: they have absolutely no developed vision, insects do not have wings, and most of them are transparent or colorless. Everything that plays an important role for surface inhabitants is completely unnecessary in the underworld of Movil. Scientists believe that organisms existing in a methane-carbon dioxide atmosphere can help humanity to solve modern environmental problems.

Scientists enter the cave through a vertical shaft, and you can get into those cave grottoes where "extraterrestrial" life reigns only if you swim along the hydrogen sulfide underground river. Movila has a special visit regime. They come here only in special sterile suits, and the stay is strictly limited. This is done so that people do not violate the integrity of this fragile world, do not introduce new inhabitants into it and change the chemical composition of the atmosphere, because carbon dioxide and small amounts of oxygen are released during human breathing.

Watch the video: Movile Cave. The Only Place On Earth Like Mars Habitat (April 2024).