Ancient mammoth tusk discovered 10,000 feet deep in ocean off California coast | TheHill - The Hill
“You start to ‘expect the unexpected’ when exploring the deep sea, but I’m still stunned that we came upon the ancient tusk of a mammoth,” said Steven Haddock, senior scientist with the Monterey Institute.An ancient mammoth tusk has been retrieved from the deep ocean waters off the coast of central California that could be more than 100,000 years old. !In 2019, scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute were exploring an underwater mountain around 10,000 feet deep and nearly 200 miles offshore with a remotely operated vehicle. .Researchers said the deep sea’s cold, high-pressure environment helped keep the ancient tusk, which measures more than 3 feet in length, intact.In 34 years of deep-sea research, this might be one of our most unique discoveries yet: an ancient tusk of a mammoth.“You start to ‘expect the unexpected’ when exploring the deep sea, but I’m still stunned that we came upon the ancient tusk of a mammoth,” Steven Haddock, senior scientist with the Monterey Institute, said.