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World's largest whale graveyard discovered by Chinese scientists in Indian Ocean

From Hong Kong Free Press · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Chinese scientists discovered the world's largest whale graveyard in the Indian Ocean, containing nearly 500 skeletons up to 7,000 meters deep.
  • The site, located in the Diamantina Zone west of Australia, includes fossils dating back 5.3 million years and supports diverse deep-sea ecosystems.
  • Researchers were astonished by the scale and age of the discovery, which offers insights into deep-sea life and carbon sequestration.

An extraordinary discovery has been made in the Indian Ocean: the world's largest whale graveyard, identified by Chinese scientists using the deep-sea submersible Fendouzhe. Located seven kilometers beneath the surface in the Diamantina Zone, west of Australia, this vast necropolis contains nearly 500 whale skeletons, some dating back as far as 5.3 million years.

The researchers were astonished by the sheer scale of the graveyard, which stretches along a 1,200-kilometer corridor of bones. While the phenomenon of "whale falls", when deceased whales sink to the seafloor and provide food for deep-sea creatures, is known, the magnitude of this site was far beyond anything previously imagined. The depth and age range of the fossils found are unprecedented, offering a unique window into ancient marine ecosystems.

But discovering a necropolis of this scale was completely unexpected: the size of distribution, the depth and the age range were far beyond anything we had imagined.

— Xiaotong PengLead study author from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describing the researchers' reaction to the discovery.

Living ecosystems thrive among the ancient remains. The Chinese researchers observed a variety of deep-sea animals, many potentially new to science, feeding off the whale carcasses. These vibrant communities, including jellyfish, worms, snails, and crustaceans, exist in the otherwise dark and cold ocean depths, showcasing the resilience and adaptability of life. The discovery of an extinct whale species among the fossils further adds to the scientific significance of the site.

Scientists theorize that the graveyard's location in a popular foraging area with a V-shaped trench that funnels carcasses to the seafloor may explain the concentration of whale remains. Beyond its biological importance, the whale graveyard represents a massive store of sequestered carbon. The soft tissues and lipids from an estimated 10 million carcasses could hold approximately 6.7 million tonnes of carbon, highlighting the ocean's role in long-term carbon storage.

The vibrant ecosystems we saw offered a completely different perspective on this otherwise dark and cold ocean floor.

— Zhou PengStudy co-author reflecting on the experience of witnessing the whale graveyard.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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