http://www.coml.org/
This was in the DAM News today..I was just gobsmacked. This is just fascinating to me. You couldn't get me to even think about going down there or deeper than 4 feet, but man..it is wonderful..
There are 5,600 new species on top of the 230,000 known. researchers say they hope to add several thousand more by the end of the census in October 2010.
17,650 species living below 656 feet, the point where sunlight ceases.
5,722 living in the extreme ocean depths, waters deeper than 3,280.
170 new species that get their energy from chemicals spewing from ocean-bottom vents and seeps.
More than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries are working to catalog the oceans' species.
Researching the abyss has been costly and difficult because it involved deep-towed cameras, sonar and remotely operated vehicles that cost $50,000 a day to operate.
Once the census is complete, the plan is to publish three books: a popular survey of sea life, a second book with chapters for each working group and a third focusing on biodiversity.
Cain Burdeau (Associated Press)
13 comments:
Now I love the water, but yeah deeper than 50 feet is not my personal cup of tea, unless it was in a submarine and I didn’t know about it, because I was heavily drugged up.
Wonder if the new species look like those from a Simpson episode?
And soon, if not already, mankind will be exploiting and killing them off....
Ugh.. sorry - its Monday.
How long before Rush, Glenn Beck et.al. start a campaign against this census?? I'm sure they wouldn't want a census of critters anymore than they want an accurate census of people.
We only know a tiny fraction of what is underwater in the oceans.
they should be very interesting books but probably won't sell 1/1000 as much as sarah palin's book.
doesn't say much for our species.
Quite fascinating. There seems to be so much to learn right here on our earth.
It's like the final frontier down there, isn't it?
I love this stuff!
I tried scuba diving once..and my sinus' said no...blood everywhere.
I love all the life that is down there tho.
That seems like a good thing to do, no telling what they might find.
Utterly cool!
I'm glad you all liked it..I was amazed at all the pictures they had of the new discoveries...butt ugly but soo interesting..
I don't want to go down there looking at them. I don't like swimming in fish shit.
They are interesting though.
The ocean freaks me out. Especially what humans have done to it.
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