Tag: deep sea

  • French supermarkets told deep sea fish are NOT sustainable

    One of France’s biggest supermarket chains has been claiming the deep sea fish species it sells are sustainable even though they’re caught by enormously destructive bottom trawlers. A landmark ruling today bans the chain from making any further claims along these lines. It’s hoped that the decision will help put an end to practice of…

  • The first men to reach the bottom

    With the news that James Cameron is set to be the first person in 52 years to venture to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, here’s a piece of news footage from the first time people went down there (complete with fantastic musical backing track). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFdGQ0QIco[/youtube]

  • Discovering the deepest deep sea vents

                        Last week a major ocean discovery hit the science news headlines with details published of the deepest, and quite possibly the hottest undersea volcanic vent on the planet. Named the Beebe Vent field (after the chap who first went down into the deep ocean), and…

  • Wave your claws in the air…

    … like you just don’t care. Remember the Yeti crab? That fuzzy pawed deep sea denizen that revealed itself to science a few years ago and got given the name Kiwa hirsuta? Well, meet it’s newly-discovered cousin, Kiwa puravida. This chap has gone one step further down the weeeeird sea animals pathway. It’s not just hairy but…

  • Yeti crab – the Movie!

    Live from the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Aberdeen, it’s . . . Yeti Crab – the Movie! Perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. We’re live (sort of) in Aberdeen with 953 of our closest friends and colleagues, catching up on the cutting edge of research on the wondrous and varied life…

  • Hydrogen-powered hydrothermal vent critters

    Scientists have discovered a third source of energy used by animals in the deep sea. Hydrothermal vents aren’t for the feint hearted. It’s very dark and unbelievably hot down there, not to mention the pressure – we’re talking many miles beneath the waves, here – and all those zingy chemicals, gushing out from cracks in…

  • Send your artwork to the bottom of the ocean!

    Haven’t you always dreamed of sending your art 5,000 meters down to the bottom of the ocean? Okay, maybe not, but if you think that sounds pretty awesome: now’s your chance! In late September, the ocean drilling research vessel JOIDES Resolution will head to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Scientists on board from the Center for Dark…

  • Using Skype to explore the deep sea in realtime

    There’s so much we still don’t know about what lives at the bottom of the sea. Just go look and you’ll find heaps of new species and weird things going on that you’d never have imagined. But how to make the most of scientists’ knowledge for exploring the depths? These days, you don’t need to…

  • Your chance to name an ocean critter

    Ever fancied choosing a name for a new species? Well, now’s your chance. To celebrate the upcoming World Oceans Day, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography want some help naming an awesome deep sea worm found 1km beneath the waves on a whale fall (the body of a dead whale that’s drifted down to the…

  • Top Ten Sea Monsters (OK, make it a dozen)

    We couldn’t have done this better ourselves. Meet the “12 most bizarre and frightening sea creatures“, courtesy of Asylum UK.  This is so good I had to reproduce it: The planet Earth is full of scary stuff. Not just like the threat of bird-flu and unemployment, but even scarier things like angry bears and bity…