Seen from space, the Earth appears as a “Blue sphere,” covered with water on more than 70% of its surface. This familiar aspect of our planet is the result of a very long evolution that dates back to the origins of the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago!
All the water on Earth represents a volume of 1.4 billion km3. If all this water were evenly distributed over the surface of the globe, it would render a layer 3.7 kilometres thick! That is amazing!
Moreover, the spread between the surface and the floor of the Ocean holds around 97% of the total habitable volume of our beloved planet. That is a cumbersome and mysterious territory yet to explore. It is just beyond our imaginations!
Deep-sea column is formed by various mysterious small elements and creatures which live in water-depths of over 50 meters where there is little or no sunlight. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages many ocean’s far deep studies and research.
We are sharing an enthralling ocean-exploration video from the oceanexplorergov YouTube channel that presents these vast open and deep waters, including the depths where the light can not reach, titled Exploring the Water Column
The Various Depth & Zone Of The Ocean
In this video, we can see and define various water column zones which are explained by The NOAA. Wikipedia defines the five water column divisions or pelagic zones. The first zone is called aphotic or mesopelagic zone also known as the twilight zone. It is the area of a lake, a sea, or an ocean between the depth where natural light is zero. It is mentioned in this exploration video. At the start of the depth of the ocean, only 1% incident light reaches there, however, there is no light seen at the end of the surface.
The range of this mesopelagic zone is between 200 and 1000 meters. The light flashes to penetrate these depths. The light reaching the mesopelagic zone is weak and does not allow Photosynthesis. However, distinctions between day and night can be made in the upper regions of this area. The mesopelagic zone also contains the thermocline layer. And a variety of creatures living in the mesopelagic zone we can find in this video. Examples include fish, shrimp, squid, snipe eels, jellyfish, and zooplankton.
The next is Abyssopelagic (ranging from 4000 meters up to ‘the oceanic crust). There is No light whatever it is penetrating to this dark depth. Most living things are blind and albino which is located in the abyss. (about 2000 to 6000 meters deep). The depressions and crevices are below the level of the seafloor. Life is abundant on the benthos of this environment (foraminifera, bacteria, etc.)
Moving far deeper, there is Hadopelagic, known as the hadal zone. This environment is still little known because it is located at great depths (ranging between 6000 to 11000 meters deep). This zone corresponds to the oceanic trenches created by the phenomenon of subduction.
Within these different zones, various types of organisms can be observed according to their privileged living environment with species preferring, in fact, to live either near the bottom, or directly on the substratum, or in the substratum.
These benthic organisms can also be distinguished according to their size: microbenthos, meiobenthos, macrobenthos. They can also be differentiated according to their mobility or their immobility.
This videography research of water depth is just enlightening and opens new ways of our thinking process and imaginations. Thanks to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Oceanexplorergov for sharing such a treasure and treat to the eye! It is truly eye-catching and an unusual visit to the depth of the ocean and exploring its Water column.
Interesting To Know: Oceanic And Marine Depths
- Average depth: -3,800 m
- West Pacific: Mariana Trench: “Challenger Deep” (-11,035 m) – Tonga Trench (-10,882 m)
- Eastern Pacific: Peru-Chile trench (-8,064 m) – Guatemala trench (-6,662 m)
- Atlantic: Puerto Rico Trench (-9,218 m) – South Sandwich Trench (-8,264 m)
- Indian: Sonde-Java trench (-7,450 m) – West Madagascar trench (-6,400 m)
- Mediterranean: South of Cape Matapan (-5,121 m) – south-eastern Sicily (-4,115 m)
- Frigid Antarctic: -6,972 m
- Arctic Ice: -5,520 m
- Red Sea: -3,039 m
- Black Sea : -2 245 m
- Adriatic: -1260 m
- Sea of Marmara: -1,273 m
- Baltic: -470 m
- North Sea: -725 m
- Channel: -172 m
- Persian Gulf: -110 m
- Pas-de-Calais: -64 m
- Sea of Azov: -13 m
Why Is It So Difficult To Explore The Depth of Oceans?
The pressure limits human freedom of movement: at such depths, the arms and legs go numb. This is the reason why science and technology have their own limits. However, scientists have instead developed robots and submarines to capture the unexplored ocean.
Knowledge: The Deepest Point Of The Earth’s Crust
The Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic trench known today, with a point at – 11,034 m. At only 150 meters deep, 99% of the sunlight has been absorbed, then, beyond 1000 m, the night is complete, the cold intense and the pressure colossal. The main obstacle is the pressure, which increases by one atmosphere [unit of measurement of pressure] every 10 m of depth.
What are the challenges of this deep exploration of the ocean?
The depths of the oceans remain 95% unknown, and they hold some surprises in store for us. It is a space that people are called to discover and use. The water is very rich in minerals. There is rare earth, essential for the development of high-tech products in a context where China, which has a large part of them, is increasingly reluctant to export. Oil drilling is also getting deeper and deeper.
The problem is, the deeper the life, the more vulnerable it is. In the abyss, all forms of life are very fragile. When a human or a machine destroys an ecosystem, by raising dust or with a simple contact, and the ruined life takes a long time to reform. Sometimes it even disappears completely, which uplifts essential environmental questions.
We hope you relished the experience of the depth of the ocean which was published by the ocean explorer gov. Thanks for your visit, keep exploring the unknown!
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