The Ocean

The ocean is a very strange and wondrous thing. It is one of the wonders of the world that man has yet to explore completely. One of the parts that has yet to be fully explored is the deep ocean. Who knows what really lies there? How important is the deep area of the ocean?

Deep in the ocean, there lies Hydrothermal Vents. These are areas where there lies molten rock that meets the ocean. When the water meets the rock, it begins to steam, and is a great place for animals and other organisims to live. An example of a Hydrothermal Vents is a Black Smoker. The smoke that comes from the vent forms and is the color black. Around these Hydrothermal Vents, there lies Chemosynthetic Bacteria. These bacteria gain their energy from the chemicals that come from the vent. They are eaten by others, and creates a food chain. The first discovery of these vents occured in 1977.

The larger animals that live near these vents migrate from vent to vent to keep a constant flow of food and energy. One way that they migrate is using the deep-sea currents. At the poles, water becomes very salty and cold. This cold water sinks to the bottom of the ocean because it becomes more dense. It will continue to sink until it reaches a level of water of equal density. Once it matches densities, it will start to spread out. It begins to flow toward the equator, where it becomes warmed and begins to raise. The water moves toward the equator because of the top-sea currents. So a chain forms of warm and cold water. The animals use this current and "ride" it to other vents.

Due to the extreme pressure due to the water, there are very few animals that can survive. These are specialized animals that are used to the water. These animals contain: Giant Squid, Octopi, Grenader Fish, Sabertooth glowfish, and many clams and mollusks. Most of these animals either have an extremely hard outer shell, or are boneless; so they can survive the pressure with relative ease and with little to no stress on their bones (Because they have none).

The sea contains several different geographical structures. One of these are the Abyssal Plain, which is a large area of nothing. And Sea Mounts, which are undersea moutains. Submersive Canyons are fissures that go down to reach the molten rocks. These are the Hydrothemal Vents. Other major themes are: Continental Shelves, Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and Deep Ocean Trenches, which are where the continental plates are forced under one another. The Canyons occur where the plates separate.

The deep ocean is a habitat that houses several different species. Most of them survive around Hydrothermal Vents and use deep-sea currents to travel. There are many other mysteries that the sea holds. Who knows, there may be a Lost City of Atlantis. It may be a long time before the world really finds out.