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Ragged Tooth Shark at 1000 ft
The ragged tooth shark pictured above was found by DeepSee researchers at a depth of 1,000 feet In the waters around Cocos Island. This rare species had never been observed in these waters prior to sightings by the submarine DeepSee . The new technology allows scientist to reach new depths and observe things never before seen. Photo: Steve Drogin Deep Sea Pacific EcosystemsProject Focus The deep sea, previously considered untouchably remote, is a
lot closer than many perceive.
Human-generated pollution, overfishing, and climate change are
having a direct impact on deep-sea environments and their
inhabitants. Lisa
Levin has investigated a variety of bizarre creatures that have
adapted to extreme deep sea settings, from toxic methane seeps to
massive zones where oxygen levels are next to nothing. Levin recently coauthored a study showing that oxygen-minimum zones
cover 1.1 million square kilometers (680,000 square miles) of the
deep ocean. One such zone exists off California at roughly 600 to
1,000 meters (2,000 to 3,200 feet) deep, part of a continuous zone
that spans from Alaska to central Chile. Because such zones occur naturally, Levin says they have become an important comparative tool for studying human-produced "dead zones" created by pollution and ocean warming. The animals living in hypoxic zones employ a variety of strategies to make a living there, including those with specialized gills or tentacles to extract what little oxygen is available. "The deep sea is not that far away in terms of our activities and impact," said Levin noting an assortment of urban items from shoes to beer cans in the depths. Much remains to be studied and explored in the deep sea especially before humanity reaches down into the ocean depths and irreversibly changes what's there. "By not knowing what's down there, we run the risk of destroying things before we've discovered them. Every time we make a new discovery we learn more about how life works and how it evolved." http://explorations.ucsd.edu/Features/2008/Deeply_Connected/ News from the Deep Sea.
(Reported in San Diego News Network by La Jolls Village News ) Arrow points to the "green bombs" on this newly discovered marine worm.
Dr. Lisa Levin's class on Deep Sea Biology (Fall 2009) Seamount Ecology |
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Rouse lab reports new species found -