THE DEEP SEA IS A TRULY FASCINATING REALM. IT IS AN EXPANSE OF MYSTERY, BEAUTY AND WONDER, WHICH HAS CAPTIVATED US SO MUCH THAT WE DECIDED TO CREATE A HUB FOR ALL THINGS DEEP-SEA-RELATED.
EXPLORE THE UNIQUE LIFE THAT THRIVES HERE BY READING OUR FACT FILES, WATCHING OUR SHORT FILMS, OR BROWSING THE LATEST NEWS ARTICLES RELATING TO THE DEEP OCEAN. ENJOY!
The majority of communities in the deep sea ecosystem must rely on the leftovers of productivity in shallower waters - the marine snow, and sunken carrion. But at cold seeps, we find another kind of producer.
Coming Soon: Life in the Pelagic Zone
The open ocean is an entirely different world to the benthic zone of the sea floor. The endless blue stretches away in all directions, while the black abyss hangs gaping below. Currents are stronger here. There is no shelter to be found, and food is hard to come by. But all the same, a plethora of life has found ways to survive here, from the surface, all the way down into the abyss.
Coming Soon: Life in the Benthic Zone
Deep sea life must choose whether to live on the bottom, or to brave the expansive open ocean of the midwater zone. Creatures that adapt to life in the midwater zone are known as pelagic, while creatures that evolve to be well-suited to an existence on or near the sea floor, are known as benthic or demersal. These two groups could not be more different, but which is a more effective way of life?
Coming Soon: Life at Deep Sea Coral Reefs
Deep Sea Coral Reefs represent areas of astounding biodiversity. Lush cold water coral and sponge gardens thrive in the icy waters. An expanse of colourful coral structures blooming out of the sea floor, providing important habitats for deep-dwelling life. And yet, they are one of the most poorly understood of all deep sea ecosystems.
The majority of communities in the deep sea ecosystem must rely on the leftovers of productivity in shallower waters - the marine snow, and sunken carrion. But at cold seeps, we find another kind of producer.
Coming Soon: Life in the Pelagic Zone
The open ocean is an entirely different world to the benthic zone of the sea floor. The endless blue stretches away in all directions, while the black abyss hangs gaping below. Currents are stronger here. There is no shelter to be found, and food is hard to come by. But all the same, a plethora of life has found ways to survive here, from the surface, all the way down into the abyss.
Coming Soon: Life in the Benthic Zone
Deep sea life must choose whether to live on the bottom, or to brave the expansive open ocean of the midwater zone. Creatures that adapt to life in the midwater zone are known as pelagic, while creatures that evolve to be well-suited to an existence on or near the sea floor, are known as benthic or demersal. These two groups could not be more different, but which is a more effective way of life?
Coming Soon: Life at Deep Sea Coral Reefs
Deep Sea Coral Reefs represent areas of astounding biodiversity. Lush cold water coral and sponge gardens thrive in the icy waters. An expanse of colourful coral structures blooming out of the sea floor, providing important habitats for deep-dwelling life. And yet, they are one of the most poorly understood of all deep sea ecosystems.
The majority of communities in the deep sea ecosystem must rely on the leftovers of productivity in shallower waters - the marine snow, and sunken carrion. But at cold seeps, we find another kind of producer.
Coming Soon: Life in the Pelagic Zone
The open ocean is an entirely different world to the benthic zone of the sea floor. The endless blue stretches away in all directions, while the black abyss hangs gaping below. Currents are stronger here. There is no shelter to be found, and food is hard to come by. But all the same, a plethora of life has found ways to survive here, from the surface, all the way down into the abyss.
Coming Soon: Life in the Benthic Zone
Deep sea life must choose whether to live on the bottom, or to brave the expansive open ocean of the midwater zone. Creatures that adapt to life in the midwater zone are known as pelagic, while creatures that evolve to be well-suited to an existence on or near the sea floor, are known as benthic or demersal. These two groups could not be more different, but which is a more effective way of life?
Coming Soon: Life at Deep Sea Coral Reefs
Deep Sea Coral Reefs represent areas of astounding biodiversity. Lush cold water coral and sponge gardens thrive in the icy waters. An expanse of colourful coral structures blooming out of the sea floor, providing important habitats for deep-dwelling life. And yet, they are one of the most poorly understood of all deep sea ecosystems.
The Chimaera, or Ghost Shark, exhibit a morphology unlike any other creature. They are named after a Greek monster that is made up of parts of different animals.
The giant squid lurks down in the dark depths of the deep sea. The enormous eyes of the giant squid and sharp-toothed suckers make this a formidable predator.
The Megamouth Shark swims with its mouth open wide to filter plankton from the water. They spend most of their lives down here in the Abyss, at times descending to 15,000 feet below.
The Ocean Sunfish waves its large dorsal and anal fins to move itself, drifting through the open ocean. At almost 10 feet long and 14 feet tall, it is the largest bony fish on the planet.
Hanging vertically in the sunless depths of the ocean, the Oarfish undulates its dorsal fin to steady itself; a clever trick that makes the fish quite hard for predators to spot.
Once known only from fossils, the coelacanth was thought to have gone extinct around 65 million years ago in the late cretaceous, during the great extinction.
The Greenland shark is perhaps the most peculiar species of shark, found in the icy Arctic waters often at depths of 2,000 metres, down in the midnight zone of the ocean.
The 'Deep Sea Explained' is an anthology of films about the broader topics concerning this mysterious and otherworldly ecosystem. The videos cover information relating to deep sea ecosystems, adaptations, exploration and the environment. Accompanying articles can be found by selecting 'read' below.
In this series, we'll take a closer look at the unique creatures that have adapted in weird and wonderful ways to survive the deep sea ecosystem. Accompanying fact files can be found on the Deep Sea Hub.
Most nutrients in the deep sea are supplied by a steady stream of organic debris, known as marine snow. This is made up of dead plankton, animals, and excrement.
Occasionally, something larger appears. A whale carcass will sink to the seabed, where it will support a complex biological community for up to 50 years. Deep sea creatures gather here to make the most of the concentrated store of nutrients, from giant sharks to tiny but fascinating bacteria.
