Deep Sea - full of surprises

Sometimes I regret that I have taken up such a "shallow" topic as the sea-ice ecosystem. Partly, the reason was that I would get to go there myself, both to the ice-covered seas and - as scuba-diver - to the underside of the ice. However, as exciting and challening as under-ice scuba diving (open-ciruit or rebreather) might be, I usually only go down to a few meters depth there (max. approx. 15 m beneath the surface, on some deep ice keels) although water depths may range in >2000 or even >3000 m range in the polar basins.

So when I read about the seemingly never-ending discoveries, exciting possibilities and strange creatures found in the deep ocean, I always get immensely jealous. I should have dropped the "Jacques Cousteau Act" years ago and become a "serious" a.k.a. Deep Sea marine biologist!
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"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Peering deep into the sea, scientists are finding creatures more mysterious than many could have imagined. At one site, nearly 2 miles deep in the Atlantic, shrimp were living around a vent that was releasing water heated to 765 degrees Fahrenheit. Water surrounding the site was a chilly 36 degrees.

An underwater peak in the Coral Sea was home to a type of shrimp thought to have gone extinct 50 million years ago.

More than 3 miles beneath the Sargasso Sea, in the Atlantic, researchers collected a dozen new species eating each other or living on organic material that drifts down from above.

"Animals seem to have found a way to make a living just about everywhere," said Jesse Ausubel of the Sloan Foundation, discussing the findings of year six of the census of marine life.

Added Ron O'Dor, a senior scientist with the census: "We can't find anyplace where we can't find anything new."

For complete report, go here.