Way down in the deep blue sea, even at the planet's frigid poles, there is much more life than you might think. Astonishingly rich biodiversity, say deep-sea mariners just back with the latest research.
Carnivorous sponges. Ultra-deep crustaceans. A red octopus with wings on its head. More biodiversity than the Amazon rainforest and Great Barrier Reef combined.
Good thing, too. At the rate that shallower sea life is being destroyed, the deep sea just might be the locker of life than restores the planet one day.
This hour On Point: a journey into the ultra-deep seas, and the life they hold.
Dr Katrin Linse, marine biologist for the British Antarctic Survey. She is part of the "Antarctic Benthic Deep Sea Biodiversity Project" ( ANDEEP) which completed a survey of the Weddell Sea region of the Antarctic.;
Dr. Lisa Levin, professor of biological oceanography at the Scripps Oceanographic Institution.;
Tim Shank, associate scientist in the Biology Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution..;
Claire Nouvian, nature photographer and filmmaker. She is author of "The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss" and curator of the exhibition "The Deep," currently open at the Paris Museum of Natural History.
This program aired on May 30, 2007.
Katika bahari ya bluu ya kina kirefu, hata kwenye ncha za barafu za sayari, kuna maisha mengi kuliko unavyofikiri. """Ni ajabu kwamba kuna aina nyingi za viumbe hai,"" wakulima wa bahari wanasema, ""kwa sababu ya utafiti wao wa hivi karibuni.""" Sponges za kula nyama. Vitu vya baharini vya kina kirefu. Pomboo mwekundu mwenye mabawa kichwani mwake. Kuna aina nyingi za viumbe hai kuliko misitu ya mvua ya Amazon na Great Barrier Reef pamoja. Jambo zuri, pia. Kwa kiwango ambacho uhai wa baharini unaoharibika, bahari ya kina kirefu inaweza kuwa mahali pa kuhifadhi uhai kuliko kuirudisha sayari siku moja. Saa hii On Point: safari katika bahari ya kina kirefu, na maisha wanayo. Katrin Linse, mwanabiolojia wa baharini wa British Antarctic Survey. "Mfano wa mradi wa ""Antarctic Benthic Deep Sea Biodiversity Project"" (ANDEEP) ni utafiti wa kina wa bahari ya Weddell." Lisa Levin, profesa wa bahari ya kibiolojia katika Taasisi ya Scripps Oceanographic. Tim Shank, mwanasayansi msaidizi katika Idara ya Biolojia katika Taasisi ya Woods Hole Oceanographic..; Claire Nouvian, mpiga picha wa asili na mtengenezaji wa filamu. "Mwanamke huyo ni mwandishi wa kitabu ""The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss"" na mkurugenzi wa maonyesho ya ""The Deep"" katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Paris." Programu hiyo ilitangazwa tarehe 30 Mei 2007.