“It wouldn’t surprise me if there were 2,000 communities, from suburbs to cities.”

— Florida State University oceanography Professor Ian R. MacDonald, quoted in The New York Times on June 22, 2010, about the possible numbers of “cold seep” communities of clams, mussels and tube worms that might be flourishing in the sunless depths of the Gulf of Mexico. (Only about 100 of the lush ecosystems have been discovered in the deep Gulf thus far.) The bizarre communities thrive on cold petrochemicals seeping up from the icy seabed. However, scientists now are concerned that the massive amounts of crude oil and methane escaping from the BP oil spill, as well as chemical dispersants sprayed into the water, could do irreparable harm to some of these ancient ecosystems.