• Question: What's at the bottom of the ocean?

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      Asked by 473drud47 to Anne, Florence, Mark, Neil, Sinead on 10 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by Dr.Unknown.
      • Photo: Neil Day

        Neil Day answered on 10 Nov 2015:

        The bottom of the oceans are great unexplored areas on our planet. The extreme high pressures and great depths that need to be descended to makes one of the hardest places on the planet to discover and there are many potential discoveries and advances in science that could be made by studying them in more detail.
        In particular the potential for microbiotic life around thermal vents (ie mini underwater volcanoes) is one topic that interests me.

      • Photo: Sinead Balgobin

        Sinead Balgobin answered on 11 Nov 2015:

        Lots of microbes and weird new fish or crustaceans that we know nothing about is my guess! We have probably explored the ocean the least of everything- we spend so much time looking out into space, but not very much researching the vast expanse of water on the planet. It’s difficult to find out the answer to your question because of the high pressures in the ocean depths- we need to create new technologies that are able to withstand a lot. There are so many discoveries to make in the ocean, maybe one day you could be the person that invents the robot that shows us the ocean floor?

    Comments

    • Photo: Dr.Unknown

      Dr.Unknown commented on :

      But could it be possible to discover new resources and living things down in the ocean?

    • Photo: Dr.Unknown

      Dr.Unknown commented on :

      And if so what would we find ?

    • Photo: Sinead

      Sinead commented on :

      We would definitely discover new living things and resources- we barely know the animals and plants that live on the land, imagine how many more live in the places we haven’t explored yet?! There might be microbes and plants that have evolved to exist without sunlight, and under the extreme pressures of the ocean at that depth, different types of geological rock formations that we don’t know about… so many possibilities. The only way we can find out is if we figure out a way to get down there for long enough to have a look and take some samples.

      You should read/watch about Deepsea Challenger, James Cameron’s deep sea submarine.