Discovery of Mysterious Golden "Egg" on the Alaskan Seabed Baffled Scientists

A mysterious smooth, golden orb has been discovered deep on the seafloor of Alaska, leaving marine scientists puzzled as to its identity. While speculations abound, one prevailing theory is that it could be the "egg casing" of an enigmatic creature.

Image credit: The Washington Post

This unusual, pliable substance was stumbled upon last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during a mission to map uncharted deepwater habitats off the coast of Alaska. The scientists are both intrigued and excited by the discovery made on August 30th, yet they openly acknowledge their bafflement regarding its nature.

One of the researchers remarked, "It definitely has a substantial hole in it, so something either attempted to enter or exit." The members of the NOAA Ocean Exploration team wondered aloud about the kind of creature that could create such an egg casing.

Sam Candio, the NOAA Ocean Exploration coordinator for the expedition, expressed, "While it is somewhat humbling to be confounded by this finding, it serves as a reminder of how little we comprehend about our own planet and how much there is left to discover and appreciate within our oceans."

Jon Copley, a professor specializing in ocean exploration and science communication at the University of Southampton, examined images of the object and suggested, "At first glance, it may be the remains of an egg case from an invertebrate animal or possibly a slightly distorted sponge." He sought to reassure the public by stating that the orb is "certainly nothing that should cause concern."

Copley also pointed out that discoveries like this have the potential to "capture people's attention" and ignite fascination because the deep ocean is not as accessible as the sky and space. He noted, "In the deep ocean, we frequently encounter things we have not encountered before or instantly recognized, because the deep ocean is vast, and our exploration of its inhabitants has only spanned a few centuries, unlike our understanding of terrestrial life."

Daniel Jones, the associate head of ocean biogeosciences at Britain's National Oceanography Center, weighed in, saying, "Without a detailed examination and analysis of the specimens collected, we cannot definitively identify this peculiar object. However, it underscores the diversity of life in the world's unexplored deep oceans and underscores the importance of scientific exploration."

Meanwhile, the NOAA Ocean Exploration team remains determined to unravel the mystery of the enigmatic orb. Using a remote vehicle, they carefully probed the orb, revealing its soft, skin-like texture. Subsequently, they employed a gentle suction device to detach the orb from its rocky substrate for further investigation.

However, despite successfully recovering the golden orb from the seafloor and bringing it to the surface, expedition coordinator Candio stated, "We still cannot identify it beyond recognizing that it is of biological origin. We are unlikely to learn more until we can examine it in a laboratory setting."

Prof Kerry Howell, a deep-sea ecologist at the University of Plymouth, said that it is not unusual to find new species during exploratory missions, but that it would normally be possible to place them in a broad taxonomic category.

“If it is an egg, the really interesting question is whose egg is it. It’s quite big. That’s not a small fish egg. That’s a sizeable thing.”

It remains unclear if the golden egg is associated with a known species, a new species, or represents an unknown life stage of an existing one, according to Candio.

DNA tests should be able to establish which family of marine life the orb belongs to, although it is unlikely to be possible to identify a precise species since only a fraction of marine life has been sequenced.

This dive was a part of the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition in the Gulf of Alaska, conducted aboard the NOAA Okeanos Explorer ship. The mission commenced on August 23, 2023, and is scheduled to conclude on September 16, 2023.

The expedition employs remotely operated vehicles and multibeam sonar mapping to explore depths ranging from 200 to 6,000 meters, with the aim of studying deep-sea coral and sponge habitats, fish habitats, and enhancing our understanding of past and potential geological hazards.

References:

CBSNEWS: Mysterious "golden egg" found 2 miles deep on ocean floor off Alaska — and scientists still don't know what it is 

The Guardian: Mysterious ‘skin-like’ golden orb found on ocean floor off Alaska coast

Washington Post: Scientists found a ‘golden egg’ deep in the sea near Alaska. But what is it?