National Geographic's Ocean Now is a project to study the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean. You can follow along as Dr. Enric Sala and a team of scientists explore the pristine waters of their most recent destination: Cocos Island.
This Ocean Now site provides you with the opportunity to have your questions answered by the crew aboard the research vessels. You can ask questions about life on a research vessel, species they have studied, and most importantly what are the effects of the "Human Footprint" on one of the last healthy and undisturbed places left on Earth.
You can get real time scientific data direct from the source, learn and discover right along with the scientists themselves, read comments made by students from around the world and participate on the expedition blog.
For example, from just last Friday, Sept. 25, 2009
09:36amPosted by Octavio Aburto
Despite their big mouths and their amazing size—up to 15 meters—whale sharks are harmless to humans. They feed on zooplankton, larvae of several species, and small species such as crabs, shrimp, and jellyfish. They are attracted to seamounts and offshore promontories such as Cocos, because currents bring their food to these sites.
When just the day before they filmed this video;
Let me know what you think of this website. Marine and Environmental Science students can gather some excellent scientific information.
The comments box is open:
What questions might you ask a scientist on an expedition like this?
How could you use this site to improve your understandings of our environment ?
Compared to what we know about the terrestrial Earth -- or even about other planets -- our knowledge of the ocean depths is embarrassingly limited. It's an issue, ultimately, of accessibility. The deep oceans, however beautiful and inviting, are a notoriously dangerous place for a land-lubbing species such as ourselves, with the risks increasing the farther we descend. What we can't easily get to, we also can't study.
The most obvious problem is oxygen. Fish and other water-dwelling organisms are equipped to access the oxygen dissolved in water. We are obviously not fish, and we can't breathe -- naturally, that is -- underwater. Divers holding their breath (free divers), many of whom have developed extraordinary control over their heart rate and other body functions, can stay underwater for minutes at a time and dive more than 100 meters deep. (Kathy Svitil)
Beneath the world's oceans lie rugged mountains, active volcanoes, vast plateaus and almost bottomless trenches. The deepest ocean trenches could easily swallow up the tallest mountains on land . Think you know the tallest mountain on Earth? The real answer might surprise you.
The REAL deep dive record though was set by Piccard and Walsh on January 23, 1960, when the Trieste reached the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean's Marianas Trench -- 35,810 feet -- that will likely never be bested. No one has even tried. In fact, in the nearly 40 years since, no person has plunged to within 10,000 feet of the record. Students: for an excellent review resource features in the Benthic zone/ocean floor/ocean bottom DIVE IN HERE To check your understanding try this QUICK QUIZ
Perhaps the best way to grasp the magnitude of our unseen Earth is to "imagine" what our planet would look like without the oceans.
For an even more "in depth look" Check out National Geographic Drain the Ocean
The comments box is open... (Remember First name then class period/color ID)
What do you think about this blog?
How does " Top to Bottom" help your understandings of the world around you?
Many of your comments requested more information on different topics. This week I will try and accommodate.
The Giant Squid was VERY popular.
If you didn't tour the whole site by clicking on BIG SQUID in the blog, then here is a short cut: Architeuthisduxand the Search Goes On.
Did you know there is evidence of an even BIGGER invertebrate?
Riddle: What has eight arms and two tentacles, lives in the deep ocean and is bigger than a giant squid? Answer: The Colossal Squid.
The Colossal Squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is thought to be the largest of the squid species in weight, even exceeding that of the famous Architeuthis dux. This species was first described in 1925 when two arms of the creatures were recovered from the stomach of a sperm whale. After that very little was learned about the Colossal Squid for many years as only a few incomplete or damaged specimens were found.
In 2003 the colossal squid again got the attention of the popular press when a nearly intact specimen was brought up from deep Antarctic waters at a depth of over 6,000 feet. Just three years later another specimen, a female 26 feet in length and weighing 1095 pounds, was captured accidentally by a fishing boat near New Zealand in Antarctic waters. This particular animal is thought to be the largest invertebrate animal ever found.
Both of these large squids are major sources of food for the sperm whale. Scientists estimate the Colossal Squid may make up 77% of the diet by weight of Antarctic sperm whale.
Watch a video as these "Behemoths Battle in the Benthos."
To do a simple experiment to better understand sound and movement go to The UNMUSEUM .
More about ... Beasties of the Benthos
The term Deep Sea Creatures refers to organisms that live below the photic zone of the ocean. These creatures must survive in extremely harsh conditions; such as hundreds of atmospheres of pressure, small amounts of oxygen, very little food, no sunlight, and constant, extreme cold. Most creatures have to depend on food floating down from above. Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. They live in or near marine sedimentary environments, fromtidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths. The Webster's dictionary defines the word monster as "an animal of strange or terrifying shape" and "one unusually large for its kind". By this definition, the creatures that dwell in the deep ocean are true monsters. Miles beneath the surface, where sunlight can no longer penetrate, exists an eerie world of cold darkness. This is the abyss. It is a world of strange and sometimes grotesque forms. Some of the animals here have evolved the ability to create their own light through a phenomenon known as bioluminescence. These lights are used to attract prey and ward off predators. There are organisms here that get their food from chemicals in the water through a process known as chemosynthesis. This is a realm of extremes containing creatures of gigantic proportions. This is where the elusive giant squid hunts. It is also where the great sperm whale comes to feed on the giant squid. Here, within the waters of our own planet, lies an alien planet of wonders that we are just now beginning to explore. (http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/deep-sea-intro.html )
