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Deep sea monsters offer hope to science
Source: Agencies |
November 23, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
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THE permanent darkness of the ocean depths is home to a far greater range of animals, from luminous jellyfish to tubeworms that live off oil seeping from the seabed, than previously thought, scientists said yesterday.
A total of 17,650 species of animals, also including shrimps, corals, starfish or crabs, have been identified in the frigid, sunless waters about 5 kilometers deep.
"The diversity of life in the deep sea is much, much greater than we've believed," said Robert Carney of Louisiana State University in the US, who co-leads a study of the ocean depths as part of a wider international Census of Marine Life. "The abyss is not the dark hole any more," he told Reuters, explaining the latest surveys with deep-towed cameras, sonars and other technology.
Light typically penetrates about 200 meters into the seas, and the zone beyond has long been viewed as a desert with crushing pressures.
Beyond the sunlit area where plants can grow, creatures have to exploit bacteria, for instance that break down methane or oil, or food falling from the surface such as whale carcasses.
Among creatures were luminous jellyfish and gelatinous creatures known as finned octopods, or "Dumbos" because they flap ear-like fins and look like the cartoon flying elephant.
Dumbos, about 2 meters long, are among the big creatures of the abyss, also including some sharks or siphonophore jellyfish, said Mike Vecchione of the Smithsonian Institution.
"Siphonophores have been reported to be longer than a blue whale," he said. The Census of Marine Life is a 10-year project due for completion in October 2010.
In one part of the Gulf of Mexico, experts found a tubeworm at 990 meters deep on the sea floor. When a robotic arm lifted it from the seabed, oil gushed out -- it was eating chemicals from oil.
Carney said that oil companies focused on geological surveys to find deposits but that tubeworms could also be a marker. "You certainly have a source or methane or liquid petroleum nearby if you find these tubeworms."
A total of 17,650 species of animals, also including shrimps, corals, starfish or crabs, have been identified in the frigid, sunless waters about 5 kilometers deep.
"The diversity of life in the deep sea is much, much greater than we've believed," said Robert Carney of Louisiana State University in the US, who co-leads a study of the ocean depths as part of a wider international Census of Marine Life. "The abyss is not the dark hole any more," he told Reuters, explaining the latest surveys with deep-towed cameras, sonars and other technology.
Light typically penetrates about 200 meters into the seas, and the zone beyond has long been viewed as a desert with crushing pressures.
Beyond the sunlit area where plants can grow, creatures have to exploit bacteria, for instance that break down methane or oil, or food falling from the surface such as whale carcasses.
Among creatures were luminous jellyfish and gelatinous creatures known as finned octopods, or "Dumbos" because they flap ear-like fins and look like the cartoon flying elephant.
Dumbos, about 2 meters long, are among the big creatures of the abyss, also including some sharks or siphonophore jellyfish, said Mike Vecchione of the Smithsonian Institution.
"Siphonophores have been reported to be longer than a blue whale," he said. The Census of Marine Life is a 10-year project due for completion in October 2010.
In one part of the Gulf of Mexico, experts found a tubeworm at 990 meters deep on the sea floor. When a robotic arm lifted it from the seabed, oil gushed out -- it was eating chemicals from oil.
Carney said that oil companies focused on geological surveys to find deposits but that tubeworms could also be a marker. "You certainly have a source or methane or liquid petroleum nearby if you find these tubeworms."
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