What else is out there?
By Mark Kaufman on December 18, 2021
A glass octopus spotted by a Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition in 2021.
Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
The deep sea glows.
Giant, phantasmagorical creatures dwell in the dark water.
And when marine researchers lower robots into these depths, they're almost always spotting something rare or previously unknown to science.
"There's so much left to explore and find in the ocean," said George Matsumoto, a deep sea scientist who works as a senior education and research specialist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. "The ocean provides 98 percent of living space on Earth. We don't know what else lives there."
Ocean expeditions in 2021 added to a growing catalog of wild deep sea sightings and newly discovered species. Biologists emphasize humanity must better understand and protect this unique life, particularly as the prospects for mining rare metals in the deeps with tractor-like industrial equipment loom increasingly large. "What are all the things in the ocean that see us coming and stay away?"
When you see the recent sightings below, it's important to remember that what we glimpse in the deep sea is still inherently limited. With big, bulky exploration machines, scientists often capture footage of creatures that are too slow to get away, are too big to care, or are too small or translucent to spot on camera.
"What are all the things in the ocean that see us coming and stay away?" mused Matsumoto.
The deep sea glows.
Giant, phantasmagorical creatures dwell in the dark water.
And when marine researchers lower robots into these depths, they're almost always spotting something rare or previously unknown to science.
"There's so much left to explore and find in the ocean," said George Matsumoto, a deep sea scientist who works as a senior education and research specialist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. "The ocean provides 98 percent of living space on Earth. We don't know what else lives there."
Ocean expeditions in 2021 added to a growing catalog of wild deep sea sightings and newly discovered species. Biologists emphasize humanity must better understand and protect this unique life, particularly as the prospects for mining rare metals in the deeps with tractor-like industrial equipment loom increasingly large. "What are all the things in the ocean that see us coming and stay away?"
When you see the recent sightings below, it's important to remember that what we glimpse in the deep sea is still inherently limited. With big, bulky exploration machines, scientists often capture footage of creatures that are too slow to get away, are too big to care, or are too small or translucent to spot on camera.
"What are all the things in the ocean that see us coming and stay away?" mused Matsumoto.
Rare footage of the giant phantom jelly
While exploring the deep sea in California's Monterey Bay in 2021, marine scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captured rare footage of a giant phantom jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea) roaming the deep waters.
Their video, taken by a sturdy deep sea robot, shows the jelly's massive bell and long, drape-like arms undulating in the water. Over thousands of dives, Monterey Bay researchers have only spotted this enigmatic species nine times, though scientists first documented the phantom jelly in 1899.
"Even now, scientists still know very little about this animal," the research institute wrote.
Often living at depths of some 3,300 to 13,100 feet beneath the surface, these creatures likely feast on small fish and plankton.
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