Under the Waves, a Deep Unknown

[n2doc]

By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: May 28, 2010

STRANGE as it sounds, we know more about distant planets than we do about the deep sea.

Light-years may measure greater distances, but fathoms can be — unfathomable.

Inky darkness, icy temperatures and, most of all, crushing pressures conspire to make deep exploration daunting if not impossible. That is why scientists estimate that humans have glimpsed perhaps only a millionth of what there is down there to see.

That also helps explain why a runaway oil well on the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico is a massive calamity, with crews struggling to stop the gushing crude. It is the brutal nature of the abyss.

The biggest challenge is water’s inherent density.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/weekinreview/30broad.html

Comment- I have to take exception with that first sentence. We know a lot about the deep sea. Certainly more than any planet other than Earth, since we haven't even visited them yet with manned vehicles...