Luke Morris

Researchers publish millions of scientific discoveries every year. But did you know that even though we’ve been sailing the oceans for centuries, and exploring space for only decades, we know more about the universe than the deep earth? Based on NOAA’s studies, only 5% of our oceans are mapped, and 95% of them remain uncharted until this day. The reasons why the ocean remains a mystery are its depth and pressure that makes it nearly impossible to explore. But over the years, however, oceanographers have developed modern technologies that have made amazing discoveries beneath the ocean’s surface. In this article, we’ll tell you all about it.  The Ocean Exploration Technology Modern oceanographic research relies heavily on cutting-edge technology. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with state-of-the-art sensors allow researchers to explore the ocean floor with unparalleled precision. These tools have facilitated significant discoveries and advancements in our understanding of the marine environment. The Ocean’s Most Amazing Discoveries  What experts like most about exploring the deep oceans are the stories they tell others about what they’ve discovered. To help them expose their discoveries are advanced technologies that enable them to dive into the deep. Among those are sonar mappings, scientific buoys, ocean satellites, deep-sea submarines, and undersea exploration vehicles (human-occupied, remote-controlled, and hybrid).  So how much of the ocean have we really discovered over the years? Here are the most significant events and discoveries about life in the deep.  The Ocean’s Deepest Point The ocean contains trenches, forms that are similar to mountain ranges and canyons beneath the water. They are long depressions in the seafloor as the result of tectonic activities, such as when tectonic plates slide under another plate. Two of the deepest trenches in the world are the Mariana Trench located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and the Philippine Trench in the west of the North Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the shallowest trench can be found in the Atlantic Ocean because of its seafloor that consists of continental shelves.  The deepest part of the Mariana Trench is known as the Challenger Deep, a crescent-shaped trench that consists of active volcanoes and openings that vent out liquid sulfur and carbon dioxide. According to records from submersibles and bathymetry, this point has a measured depth of 35,768 to 35,856 meters or 6.7 to 6.79 miles.  To give you a ballpark of how deep Challenger Deep is, let’s compare it with Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.  In theory, if Mount Everest is put in the deepest part of the ocean, it wouldn’t even see the light of day. Towering at 8.84 km or 5.49 miles high, this Himalayan mountain will be submerged in the 11 km or 7-mile long Challenger Deep. With this kind of depth, do you think it’s possible for humans to reach its bottom? Actually, yes. The first person to ever go on solo deep diving in Challenger Deep was the renowned film director James Cameron, who also happens to be an avid deep-ocean explorer. According to him, what surprised him the most about this exploration was when he found plastics and candy wrappers at the bottom of the Challenger Deep.  In 2019, Cameron’s record was topped by Victor Vescovo, Guinness World Record holder and the first person to successfully dive into the deepest parts of all five oceans. This amazing feat was brought by the expedition known as Five Deeps.  Thriving Ecosystems  Deep in the waters where the sun’s rays can’t penetrate, researchers first believed that life in the ocean’s deepest part is impossible. But as it turned out, they couldn’t be more wrong.  Life thrives when there’s food available, and this is true when it comes to underwater ecosystems. Although food is scarce, marine organisms are able to live off minimal food by having slow metabolisms and consuming minerals from the seafloor. They also rely on what experts call the ‘marine snow’, or the shower of organic matter, remains of decaying animals, and feces that fall from the shallow waters.  The deepest parts of the ocean also have hydrothermal vents that emit water that’s hot enough to melt metal. Surprisingly, researchers found a teeming ecosystem surrounding these vents consisting of flea-like creatures, snailfish, amphipods, and tubeworms. A lot of organisms can adapt to deep-sea environments, even with their most extreme conditions. Most fishes in deep zones can withstand depth pressure that comes with massive force because they don’t have air sacs. Instead, they have piezolytes to protect their molecules from getting crushed by high pressure. Ninety percent of deep-dwelling organisms are also bioluminescent in able to adapt to their pitch-black habitat. Some of them become luminescent because they consume bacteria with light-emitting cells called photophores.  Unusual Creatures of the Deep The deeper the ocean is, the weirder the creatures become. The following are some of the marine organisms caught on footage by oceanographers. They are animals that don’t require sunlight and some of them are also known to exist for millions of years.  Bristlemouth fish This species is the most abundant vertebrate on the whole planet. In numbers, these fishes can take trillions — maybe even quadrillions! Bristlemouth fishes are often found in the Melosopelagic zones of oceans in tropical regions.  Like some worms and butterflies, this species is characterized by a male-first hermaphrodite attribute known as protandrous, a phenomenon wherein some bristlemouth fish start as male, then switch to female as they grow.  Kitefin sharks Next, we have the largest bioluminescent vertebrate that’s known today and also the slowest moving shark — the kitefin shark. This fish is characterized by its lobed fins, thick lips, blunt snout, and large eyes that allow it to see in deep seas. They’re often caught by fishermen because of their sizable oil-rich liver, skin, and flesh.  Chimaera (Ghost sharks) Known for their ghost-like features and unusual body parts, chimaeras are cartilaginous fishes that are known to exist before dinosaurs. They have the slowest evolving genome, hence why they appear … Read more

The most bizarre life forms are found in the deepest part of the ocean. According to NOAA, humans have only explored 20% of the sea — the other percentage remains unmapped and uncharted until this day.  Among the elusive and mysterious creatures that lurk deep beneath its waters are ghost sharks, or also known as chimaeras — species that are believed to be one of the oldest fishes in the ocean.  There are only a few human encounters with deep-sea ghost sharks. In 2009, their very first footage was caught by a group of researchers miles beneath the coasts of California. There we see how ghost sharks look and how they behave in their natural habitat. If you want to learn more about them, this post contains curious and amazing facts about this peculiar creature. What are deep-sea ghost sharks? Chimaeras or ghost sharks (scientific name: Callorhincus milii) are fishes from species that are relative to sharks and rays. They’re known in many different names such as “King of Herring”, “rat fish”, and “elephant fish”.  All over the globe, there are over 50 known species of ghost sharks that vary from their elongated noses and tails. They are also divided into three groups — plow-nose, short-nose, and long-nose.  Surprisingly, the species of chimaeras already exist even before there were dinosaurs. They’re known to have emerged after the Devonian extinction, which is approximately 420 million years ago. The earliest evidence of this species is the skull found in South Africa in the 1980s that researchers claim to be 280 million years old.  Habitat Deep-sea ghost sharks live 8,500 feet or 2,600 meters under the water and are thought to only exist in the Southern Hemisphere. Since they’re deep-dwelling in the ocean, they’re rarely seen alive. Their first sighting was from footage caught by an ROV where a pointy nose blue chimaera was filmed. Other variations of this species can be spotted going to inshore bays during their mating season;  however, Chimaeras are confined to the deep sea since they live in rocky habitats such as the ocean floor. They also prefer cold water; thus why they’re seen in places like New Celadonia, Australia, and New Zealand (not including the Antarctic).  Similar to other living organisms in the deepest part of the oceans, chimaeras also have what experts refer to as ‘Deep-Sea Gigantism’. It’s an occurrence wherein deep-sea dwelling animals are larger than their shallow-water relatives because of certain environmental factors such as:  Food scarcity Low predation Increased oxygen concentration  Extremely low water temperature That said, ghost sharks or chimaeras can grow up to 4.1 feet (125 cm) to 4.9 feet (150 cm), with a maximum size that can reach 6 feet. They also have a life span of 15 years.  Characteristics  Chimaeras have a morphology that’s is unlike any other animals in this world. Similar to the Greek legendary monster of the same name, ghost sharks appear as if their parts come from different kinds of animals. For one, they have teeth that resemble that of rodents. These consist of three pairs that continuously grow instead of falling off like sharks’ teeth do. Chimaeras are opportunistic feeders, and their teeth are made of mineralized tooth plates that they use to crush and munch on molluscs and worms.  Depending on the variety of their species, some Chimaeras also have snouts similar to elephants, as well as nostrils that are very much alike to what mammals have. Unlike sharks that use their tails to propel themselves in the water, ghost sharks make use of their large dorsal fins to glide in the water — similar to how birds flap their wings. Their name also fits their odd and creepy appearance. Ghost sharks are known to have the slowest evolving genome in any of the vertebrates, a reason why they don’t look like any of the modern-day species. When inspected closely, it’s noticeable that chimaeras have strong resemblances with the animals from the Devonian period.  Chimaeras are fishes that don’t have scales. Their colours vary from greyish-blue to brown. And instead of having multiple gills, they only have one external gill on each part of their body that also acts as their means of locomotion.  Chimaeras’ skeletons are also a cross between cartilaginous and bony (like sharks), so they’re nearly impossible to fossilize. For this reason, there are only little known facts about this species until today. The only documented pieces of evidence about them are several video footage, dead carcasses washed ashore or caught by nets, and the fossilized skull found in the Karoo region, South Africa.  How they adapt  The eerie features of ghost sharks allow them to adapt to living in deep waters where the sun’s rays can’t penetrate. Their large eyes consist of reflective tissues called tapetum lucidum that glow underwater. These tissues also enable them to absorb as much light as they can.  Ghost sharks have upper jaws that are connected to their skulls. Similar to sharks, they also have protruding snouts that are sensitive to electromagnetic fields and movements that help them when they’re hunting for prey. As their defence mechanism, chimaeras have venomous spines located on their first dorsal fins to protect themselves from other predators’ attacks.  Chimaeras also have ghost-like movements that are quite hypnotic to look at. Typically, most animals who live in the deepest parts of the sea move slow because of the high pressure and cold extremity. However, in their case, they are able to move faster than others because of their large fins that allow them to cover more distance while using less energy.  The lateral line canals of the chimaeras are another one of its many curious features. The dots, as well as the stitch-like looking lines that run on their entire body (more so in their head), are part of their sensory organs. Like their snouts, these are able to detect vibrations and movements in the water.  Reproduction Chimaeras are considered solitary animals based on how they’re always alone … Read more