Our Earth’s surface is covered by water up to 71%. Even thought the ocean’s surface is exploited for fishing, transportation and scientific researches, the deepest part of the world’s oceans continues to be untouched by any humans. The deepest seas has many untold mysteries, legends and stories which keep Mankind asking for more and searching for answers for thousands of questions.
The deep sea is the part of the ocean below a depth of 200 metres that is in permanent darkness. The abyss, with an average depth of 3.8 kilometres, is the most common environment on Earth.
The sea floor is covered by vast plains of soft sediments made up of fine detritus and particles that drift down from the surface. The water is cold because it comes from the polar regions, and its weight puts considerable pressure on life at the bottom of the sea.
Although the deep sea floor has no plants, our studies show that it is extremely diverse in animal species, often having many more than shallow water. For example, a shallow water area may have only 10 - 20 species of isopod crustaceans, while some deep sea habitats have more than 100 species.
Deep sea animals are similar worldwide. However, most species are highly endemic and limited to small parts of large, seemingly continuous ocean basins.
Because most of us don't have much to do with the deep sea, we often mistreat it. Damage and changes to this environment may last for decades, centuries or even longer. Some things that might damage the deep sea environment are: human rubbish from passing ships, deep ocean mining and drilling, deep sea disposal of liquified carbon dioxide extracted from power plants and global warming.
Deepseawaters Research
NOAA's Undersea Research Program is a comprehensive underwater research program that supports NOAA's mission by providing scientists with the support, tools, and expertise necessary to conduct undersea research of regional, national, and global importance. Of special interest to NURP is research focused on NOAA's management responsibilities in corals, fisheries, and other seafloor ecosystems. NURP is also involved in advancing marine biotechnology through its National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology's (NIUST) National Repository of marine natural products. This repository represents the first intensive survey/sampling of U.S. coral reef organisms that are screened in-house for biomedical and agrochemical potential; and are available to qualified researchers for further biotechnology studies. Article keywords: