Sea Videos - The Documentary Network

Aliens of the Deep – James Cameron Documentary

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:39:56 +0000

James Cameron teams up with NASA scientists to explore the Mid-Ocean Ridge, a submerged chain of mountains that band the Earth and are home to some of the planet's most unique life forms. Cameron joins up aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh with a group of NASA scientists, as well as some American marine biologists, to investigate ten hydrothermal vents in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The vents have their own unique ecosystem, which support diverse organisms such as giant tube worms, swarms of blind white crabs, and vast amounts of shrimp which are capable of "seeing" water that is heated by the vents. These creatures do not require sunlight like other organisms, and instead obtain their energy from the vents. They are able to survive in the superheated and sulfurous water. Because of this, the documentary suggests that this is what life beyond Earth might look like. As some alien ecosystems are likely to be a lot harsher than a typical terrestrial ecosystem, these exotic vents provide an insight into some of the forms that alien life might take. The documentary shows Cameron's passion for exploring the oceans, as well as his interest in extraterrestrial life. It also showcases the technology employed to reach such depths.

Exploring the Deep 2 – The Secret of Underwater Asphalt

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:04:41 +0000

Florence Schubotz is a geochemist at MARUM. She studies a very special habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. There at depths of 3,000 meters large areas of the sea floor are covered with swathes of asphalt. This material originates in the petroleum deposits beneath the sea bed. As hydrocarbons leak out through cracks in the sea floor, lighter components rise up to the water surface, the cooled, denser components remain on the seabed, leaving a solid mass of asphalt. The result is a submarine landscape that resembles a cooled volcanic lava field. Inhospitable as it may seem, these formations are home to a unique community of organisms. The marine researcher takes Tomorrow Today on a journey to underwater worlds that have never been seen before.

Exploring the Deep 1 – Life under the Sea

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:59:21 +0000

Heiko Sahling is a biologist and deep sea geoscientist at the MARUM Research Center. The area he studies is in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Pakistan. There, at depths down to 3,000 meters, something fascinating is happening. Natural gas is emerging from the sea bed, to produce a surreal world of millions of tiny bubbles, which has already spurred the fancy of science fiction authors. In these exotic surroundings, the scientist has discovered both new animal species and communities and new geological truths. But the main questions that drive him are concerned with the methane gas emitted here. How much is emitted, how does it affect the biological world of the deep sea, and how much reaches the surface to enter the atmosphere? That is also relevant to climate researchers, because methane is a major greenhouse gas that increases global warming. Heiko Sahling takes Tomorrow Today viewers on an expedition on the METEOR research vessel. He tells us about life on board, about burning ice and about organisms that no one has seen before.