Friday, 16 June 2017

Explorers Probing Deep Sea Abyss Off Australia's Coast Find Living Wonders

quote [ A monthlong expedition into one of the deepest, least-documented places on the planet discovered hundreds of unknown species. The finds included a "faceless fish" undocumented there since 1873. ]

"Lizard fish," bathysaurus ferox in thumb. Main link is to the NPR article (full text plus 5:00 audio) about the expedition. Additional link to National Geographic article specifically about the "faceless fish" in extended. NatGeo includes video.

[SFW] [science & technology] [+4]
[by midden@5:17pmGMT]

Comments

mechanical contrivance said @ 6:05pm GMT on 16th Jun
New seafood!
Ankylosaur said @ 10:54pm GMT on 16th Jun
Fish, plankton, sea greens, and protein from the sea!
C18H27NO3 said[1] @ 6:56pm GMT on 16th Jun
Explorers Probing Deep Sea Abyss Off Australia's Coast Find Living Wonders

And kill them.
midden said[1] @ 7:19pm GMT on 16th Jun [Score:1 Interesting]
If the scientists could keep the deep sea life alive at 1/400th of the pressure they are accustomed to (roughly 1 sea-level atmosphere per 10 meters of depth), I'm sure they would. Even better, they'd love to go down and study the creatures in situ if it was at all practical for humans to work at 400 atmospheres/5800 pounds per square inch.

This quote is from a test done in the 40s at less than 1/4 of the depth discussed in the article:

"With support from the National Geographic Society and the New York Zoological Society, Beebe constructed the Bathysphere (bathy = deep). In this steel sphere he would be lowered to depths of over 2,500 feet. The thick walled sphere was designed to withstand the great pressures of the ocean deep. The sphere had two thick quartz windows for viewing. To test the windows the bathysphere, unoccupied was lowered to 3,000 feet. When the great steel ball was hauled up, Beebe wrote.

"It was apparent that something was very wrong, and as the bathysphere swung clear I saw a needle of water shooting across the face of the port window. Weighing much more than she should have, she came over the side and was lowered to the deck. Looking through one of the good windows I could see that she was almost full of water. There were curious ripples on the top of the water, and I knew that the space above was filled with air, but such air as no human being could tolerate for a moment. Unceasingly the thin stream of water and air drove obliquely across the outer face of the quartz. I began to unscrew the giant wingbolt in the center of the door and after the first few turns, a strange high singing came forth, then a fine mist, steam -like in consistency, shot out, a needle of steam, then another and another. This warned me that I should have sensed when I looked through the window that the contents of the bathysphere were under terrific pressure. I cleared the deck in front of the door of everyone, staff and crew. One motion picture camera was placed on the upper deck and a second one close to, but well to one side of the bathysphere. Carefully, little by little, two of us turned the brass handles, soaked with the spray, and I listened as the high, musical tone of impatient confined elements gradually descended the scale, a quarter tone or less at each slight turn. Realizing what might happen; we leaned back as far as possible from the line of fire. Suddenly without the slightest warning, the bolt was torn from our hands and the mass of heavy metal shot across the deck like a shell from a gun. The trajectory was almost straight and the brass bolt hurtled into the steel winch thirty feet across the deck and sheared a half-inch notch gouged out by the harder metal. This was followed by a solid cylinder of water, which slackened after a while to a cataract, pouring out of the hole in the door, some air mingled with the water looking like hot steam. Instead of compressed air shooting through ice-cold water. If I had been in the way, I would have been decapitated. "

From: Half Mile Down by William Beebe, Published by Duell Sloan Pearch (New York) 1951.
C18H27NO3 said @ 8:10pm GMT on 16th Jun
I know. I'm no marine biologist, but I have some knowledge about the sea. I was being facetious. Sorry if I came off as serious. It just reminded me of Japanese whaling fleets that are doing "scientific research." Neat quote though. I'll have to look up the book.
midden said @ 8:49pm GMT on 16th Jun
No problem. Yeah, I caught the facetious intonation, but unlike whaling, this is truly important research. If we don't study these deep-sea ecosystems now, it may be too late in a few decades.

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