Life in the Ocean
By: James W. Nybakken and Steven K. Webster
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- Earth is 71% covered with ocean on its surface
- Researchers have studied less than 10% of the ocean and have difficulty in getting safely to the bottom which leads them to explore no more than 1% of deep ocean floors
- Experts assume that scientists still have around 1 to 10 million species left to uncover the remaining aquatic organisms deep inside the ocean floor
- Life in the underwater has unique hues because water in the air and the bottom absorbs light in different ways
- This is due to shorter wavelengths which are the colors of blue and green penetrate more than the longer wavelengths which are the colors of red and yellow
- Phytoplankton are seasonal and vary by region
- Many larger species are the ones that turn the ocean green or brown or red when they bloom in coastal and certain areas where nutrients are abundant
- Ocean does not contain much plant life and only has a small fraction of the production on the land
- Thermocline - underneath the well-mixed surface layer that is narrow and separates the warm surface from the cold water and makes it heavier and the water beneath it
- Temperature and depth both play important roles in regulating the availability of oxygen
- On land, the air is constant in providing plants and animals with oxygen and at sea, the water only enters at or near the surface
- In certain areas of the Pacific Ocean at oxygen minimum zones where 500-1000 below the surface are places that few organisms can adapt to life in this poor-oxygen environment
- Most of the areas in dark cold waters have not been discovered and little information is available so investigators are very interested about these oceanic residents down there
- Ocean communities and creatures that researchers know best are that these are near the shore: coral reefs, sea-grass beds, kelp forests, coastal mangroves, salt marshes, mudflats, and estuaries
- Despite the richness of marine ecosystems, they have been left out of discussions on saving biodiversity
Although our oceans are very important to the lifeblood of planet and humankind, there are still much to be explored in the underwater life. With so many unknowns, researches and scientists alike are excited to discover these countless extraordinary species that have not yet to be seen. As technology hopefully gets more advanced in the near future, some of these areas may be possible to reveal its long ancient mysteries. Oxygen availability is very different in oceans than on land. Oceans tend to be more vulnerable due to two factors which are temperature and depth. Plant life occurs more frequently on land than in water which is because of the amount in nutrients. They may bloom but they may not be able to have an extended life span. We can't say what our oceans are yet until we gather more information about it so we can understand its entirety and not just part of it.
Before I stumbled upon this article, I knew the feeling that the oceans on Earth aren't yet fully discovered because as the depth of the water increases, the more difficult it is to investigate due to some factors like being too dark or there is a limit in which we can go down or our technology could malfunction. Since it was said to have about a million species not found, it might take some time before all of that is done. Its kind of like a museum where not only ancient historic artifacts are cool but also the ocean itself as we may possibly find the bones of organisms that were from billions of years ago. Oceans are very complex due to its features and large structures. There's nothing like the excitement of science.