WHERE are the deep seas?
Global Distribution of Cold Water Corals
SOURCE: Ocean Data Viewer, (UN environment programme), 2018, URL: https://data.unep-wcmc.org/
WHERE are the deep seas?
WHICH species live in the deep seas and how have they adapted?
Seafloor bathymetry of the Perth Canyon Marine Park
Flythrough movie of Perth Canyon Marine Park, southwest Western Australia (west of Rottnest Island, on the edge of the continental shelf) showing seafloor bathymetry and marine life that occurs within the park. The park encompasses a diversity of geomorphic features, ranging from gently sloping soft sediment plains to near-vertical towering cliffs of exposed bedrock. This geodiversity extends from the head of Perth Canyon at the shelf break to the slope-confined submarine canyons that dissect the lower continental slope. Spanning almost 4.5 km of ocean depths, the Perth Canyon has a significant influence on the local ecosystem across the food chain. The size and location of the canyon is such that it promotes upwelling from the deep ocean, leading to plankton blooms that attract seasonal aggregations of larger pelagic fish, including whales. Over geological time, the canyon has evolved to provide extensive areas of potential seabed habitat suitable for deep-sea corals and sponges.
SOURCE: YouTube (2018) by GeoscienceAustralia, Duration 3:18 mins, URL: https://youtu.be/BO-Ed2EPZZ4
The significance of deep seas for humans
- Wealth in the Oceans: Deep sea mining on the horizon?From the United Nations Environmental Program.
Useful General Resources
Select this button, look for it on the Library website, then search for the eBooks shown below:
Journey into the Deep by
"Have you ever wondered what mysteries the ocean holds? Prepare to explore the ocean from sunlit shallows to the deepest, darkest depths. Along the way, you'll meet many incredible creatures that are brand-new to science. Dive to a coral reef and spot a new species of pygmy octopus. Travel deeper and discover fragile, nearly transparent jellies as they drift past. Then head down into a world of eternal night. You'll encounter animals that make their own light and zombie worms that feast on the bones of dead whales.
Your adventure is based on the real journeys of scientists involved in the Census of Marine Life. From 2000 to 2010, more than two thousand researchers from eighty-two countries carried out the most extensive investigation of ocean life ever attempted.
Author Rebecca L. Johnson takes readers to research sites around the globe, showing how ocean scientists do their work. Stunning photographs throughout bring readers face-to-face with some of the most mesmerizing creatures on Earth."
ISBN: 9780761373841Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Ocean by
The past one hundred years of ocean science have been distinguished by dramatic milestones, remarkable discoveries, and major revelations. This book is a clear and lively survey of many of these amazing findings. Beginning with a brief review of the elements that define what the ocean is and how it works--from plate tectonics to the thermocline and the life within it--Wolf H. Berger places current understanding in the context of history. Essays treat such topics as beach processes and coral reefs, the great ocean currents off the East and West Coasts, the productivity of the sea, and the geologic revolution that changed all knowledge of the earth in the twentieth century.
SEE CH 10 "The deep, the cold and the dark"
ISBN: 9780520247789Publication Date: 2009-05-06
Ocean: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed by Call Number: eBook (EBSCO)ISBN: 9780756657062Publication Date: 2008
MARINE BIOMES by Call Number: eBOOKISBN: 9780778741817Publication Date: 2018
WHAT are deep seas (>400m)?
Click on the diagram above to access the National Geographic article on ocean trenches.
The Indian Ocean [Interactive] by
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans.
Call Number: eBOOKPublication Date: 2020
Life in ocean Depths by Call Number: 578.779 MARISBN: 082393988XPublication Date: 2004
The importance of deep seas in the marine environment
An example of an Indian Ocean FOOD WEB
THREATS to the deep sea habitat
Ocean conservation and management by
Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface and contain a diverse array of species, habitats and ecosystems. As many as 100 million species live in our oceans, contributing to a rich biodiversity far exceeding that found on land. Marine extinction risk has ramped up rapidly in the past 50 years, to converge upon the level of risk seen on land. People use and benefit from oceans and coasts in a number of important ways – through recreational activities, coastal living, tourism, fishing, shipping, and exploiting reserves of oil, gas and minerals found beneath the sea floor in many parts of the world.
Call Number: 333.91 HEAISBN: 9781922084972Publication Date: 2016
WASLA Teacher Librarian of the Year- 2017: Jo-Anne Urquhart
- 2016: Lise Legg
WASLA Library Officer of the Year- 2012: Karen Notley