Exploration of the Deep Sea

The earth’s surface consists of many features. Among them are the water bodies like the oceans and the lakes. These oceans and lakes cover more than 70% of the earth surface. Despite their massive coverage, the scientists around the world, though they have been making consistent efforts,  have not been able to explore a lot of what lies at the depths of these deep seas.

Deep sea

            The deep sea is the bottom part of the ocean, and it is usually that area that is below the thermal area of the sea. Due to the vast distance from the surface of the sea, very little light, if any, gets to this part of the ocean and so it is usually very dark making visibility to be very poor (Nelson, D. January 01, 1995) Despite the darkness, there are live organisms that exist here. No sunlight that reaches this part of the sea so no photosynthesis can take place so for the microorganisms here to feed, depend mainly on the organic matter that falls from the euphotic zone.

Reasons why it has been difficult to explore the deep sea

            Visibility is very poor in the deep sea. Thus the researchers and scientists who explore this part of the sea have to use very powerful flashlights ( Livescience.September 02, 2006). These flashlights are only able to light a short distance making exploration to be difficult. As one goes further down into the sea, the pressure of the seawater increases and this slows the speed at which the divers can reach at the bottom of the sea to be able to do their exploration thus slowing the whole process. The equipment used to transport the people into the depths of the sea like the submersible can float on water ( Smithsonian. September 20, 2014). For this to be possible, the ascent and the descent are usually regulated. However, the increasing pressure at the bottom of the sea causes it to shrink only to expand again after the pressure decreases. Those features have an overall effect on the design because the manufacturers have to consider all that during the manufacturing process. All the considerations slow down in-depth sea exploration. Once the manufacturing of the submersible is complete, another challenge sets in because a mother-ship is also required (Conservation. July, 2014). The mother-ship requires people to operate it, and so does the submersible. That makes the whole process to be quite expensive and also causes a lot of delays before a single exploration can take place. During an exploration expedition into the deep seas, there is a lot of equipment that is required, and some of it has to be electric. The electric ones have to be insulated to be waterproof, and this raises the cost even further.

Discoveries of the deep seas

            The scientists exploring the deep sea have discovered many features and species of animals that live in the waters. Among them are the octopuses, the red starfish, and the lobsters. They have also discovered five hydrothermal vents during their expeditions in the Arctic circle. The vents are known as the black the black smokers let out hot liquid. The chimney collects minerals and, some bacterias feed on them. The smoker fossils are significant because research has shown that they are related to the origin of life. For instance, there are some black smokers fossils which scientists discovered in the deep waters in China and, according to the research findings,  there is a likelihood that life began in the deep sea. According to research findings, there are many kinds of bacteria found on the sea bottom. It is interesting to note, from the research findings, that the sea floor has over three times more the types of bacterias than those on the upper waters. Scientists use some of these bacterias in various scientific processes.

Advantages of the deep sea

            Deep oceanic waters are essential for some of the laboratory procedures. Some of the bacterias found in the bottom sea aid in the fermentation processes. Without bacterias, some of the fermentation processes cant take place. Some of the sea creatures are edible like the fishes, and so they are a source of food to millions around the world. Without the microbes found in the deep sea, the different climates of the planet earth would be full of toxins (Nelson, D. January 01, 1995). That is because the different species of bacterias regulate the toxins by feeding on some of these waste particles (Discover, M. April 29, 2016) The deep sea is also a source of fuel because many of the fuel companies drill into the ocean floors in search of oil.

Disadvantages of the deep sea

            It has not been easy to explore the deep sea because of the sophisticated equipment that is required and the cost of carrying out an expedition thus slowing down the whole process apart from making it very expensive. Deep-sea mining is also adversely affecting the organisms found in the deep sea thus interfering with the eco-system (A calender of the sea History. Jan 01, 1922).

Conclusion

            Deep-sea exploration is one of the areas where scientists are yet to explore fully.The different governments in the different parts of the world should endeavor to fund the exploration projects by the scientists and the geologists. There are a lot of features in the deep sea which the scientists are yet to explore which are beneficial to the inhabitants of the earth.

References

https://www.livescience.com/14493-ocean-exploration-deep-sea-diving.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-we-must-explore-sea-180952763/

https://blog.conservation.org/2014/07/when-we-explore-the-deep-sea-we-are-exploring-for-our-own-survival/

https://www./title/xii-on-deep-sea-explorations/

http://www.worldcat.org/title/noaa-spots-yet-another-bizarre-deep-sea-dweller/

http://www.worldcat.org/title/calendar-of-sea-history/