“Scientists using a remote-controlled submarine have discovered the deepest known volcanic vent and say the superheated waters inside could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps even clues to the origin of life on earth.” So begins THIS ARTICLE that describes an exciting new chapter in oceanographic exploration.
Amid the daily strife and negative aspects of life, I love when an amazing, intriguing discovery takes place that makes us wonder at the incredible vastness of our world.Even the most jaded characters will have to admit this one is pretty amazing and provides yet more opportunities to discover the intricacies of how our earth was formed and how it functions and perhaps a few new species.
"The deep sea is full of surprises," a statement posted to the expedition's Web site said. "We may find species unlike any seen before. The Cayman Trough may be like (Arthur) Conan Doyle's 'Lost World,'" a novel that imagines an area populated by prehistoric monsters hidden deep in the Amazon.”I loved the movie, The Abyss and the idea of lifeforms we never imagined sharing our planet.
"We know more about the surface of the Moon and Mars than we do about our own planet because two-thirds of our planet is covered by ocean making it very hard to explore."Copley said it has been theorized that life may have originated in similar environments early in the Earth's history — in part because the microorganisms found in deep-sea vents appear close to some of the Earth's most ancient organisms.
There is so much more we need to learn about our planet and the creatures that inhabit it. For as much as we think we already know, I'm glad there are still mysteries to solve. Wouldn’t it be boring if we knew everything?"We've only seen a tiny fraction of the deep sea floor so there are undoubtedly many more vents and other amazing things to discover."
I can’t wait to see what they find next!
This is fantastic, Rocky. The photos are incredible and some of them downright spooky.
ReplyDeleteA nice break from politicking and a beautiful reminder that there is always more to life on our planet than we (most of us, that is) realize.
Oh dear! My cover is blown. Last year, your intrepid Octopüß discovered this vent as I was following Blue Moon into the azure waters of the Caribbean. Why was I shadowing Captain Fogg’s infamous Blue Moon? One never knows what treasures are tossed overboard. Following Blue Moon is like trailing a garbage truck from Fort Knox and finding gold Krugerrands by the roadside.
ReplyDeleteExcept in this case, those coveted treasures are not golden nuggets but empty 2-liter gin bottles tossed overboard. I love the color, and they are so comfortable when you squeeze yourself into one and use it as accommodations for the night. When you awake in the morning and look out, the new day appears cheerful through Tanqueray-colored glasses. I think of these ginormous bottles as a kind of octopus motel lying on the sea floor; and if you follow Blue Moon long enough, you can collect cases of them.
Which brings me back to the point of this travelogue. My plan was gather up those ginormous gin bottles and construct an octopus motel at the edge of the vent and turn the place into my very own private theme park … until my cover got blown.
Very nice Rocky. Wouldn't it be interesting if some scientific dollars were unleashed on exploring the oceans on the same scale as NASA.
ReplyDeleteDude - the captain doesn't drink - OK, hardly ever, but there's a large placard on the boat warning of dire consequences of throwing anything overboard.
ReplyDeleteSo I don't.
You'll have to follow some Republican boat.
Disclaimer: The preceding account is a fanciful cephalopod tale. Any resemblance to creatures or persons living or otherwise is purely coincidental and meant for entertainment purposes only … with one exception:
ReplyDeleteOctopüß was thrown overboard.
(Hiccup)
You're right -- I'm wholly coincidental with myself and I'm not sure it's a coincidence either. I suspect it's a socialist plot and I don't think I'm going overboard myself by pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteLook at it this way, Captain. Had my entrepreneurial plans to create a theme park borne fruit, that volcanic vent would have made an incredible rant.
ReplyDeleteHolte - since they are talking about cutting NASA's budget, we can only dream that some of that money would go to oceanographic exploration.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm not sure our 8 legged friend would approve. He likes his little secrets...
Octo - this whole gin bottle escapade reminds me of how my youngest used to confabulate fantastic adventures while riding the bus to school replete with ninjas and machine guns. We would then have this conversation,"Is this a true story or a pretend story?" "It's a true one." "Are you sure? I didn't see this on the news. Don't you think it would have been on the news?"... perhaps you will have to take my lead Capt and bring our inky firend back to reality! :)
I do love the concept of a vacation complex under the sea.
Reality? We don't have no reality. We don't need to show you no steeenking reality!
ReplyDeleteI believe it's been shown that the money we spent on the space program in the 50's and 60's had the highest rate of return of any investment ever made by anyone. In fact today's world would be totally impossible without the integrated circuits Texas Instruments pioneered for NASA and the military, without satellite communications, computers and all the things that grew out of them.
Exploration is good. It's always good, and yes, government sure as hell can create jobs - millions of them -- whole industries.
But we're not the confident, forward looking nation we were; coming out of the giddy victories of 1945. We're not willing to do hard things, invest in the future. We've been beaten down by over 20 years of meaningless wars that never showed any victory and meaningless appeals to support them, bad presidents, incompetent and greedy congress.
Pessimists don't have much of a future and that's what we are.
Funny you should mention Texas Instruments; back in the 70s I worked for a company that was making the microchips for TI. There was a lot of research going on and I had a job doing boron diffusion which involved ovens and several different etching acids, etc. I never realized at the time how important our work would be to the future of electronics - I was too busy making enough money so I could party over the weekend ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat news, Rocky! I found another bottle.
ReplyDelete"I had a job doing boron diffusion which involved ovens and several different etching acids, etc."
ReplyDeleteI'll bet we're the only two here who have a clue what doping semiconductors is about - and that it's legal. I enjoy asking people who tell me they're "tech savvy" about epitaxial diffusion techniques.
I have a feeling Fogg you understand the processes that produce semiconductors much better than I do!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great job while it lasted. All the engineers would work to get me outrageous raises so I would stay because they loved having me work with them. Why? Because whenever one of the neutrotic, egotistical pencil heads came flapping around my work room crying over his experimental process that just had to be done right that minute, I would lean over and whisper conspiratorily, "You know A & B Engineer have already been here with their projects but I'll run yours next."
I told each and every one of them that. They were soooo easy! ;)