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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

Deep Sea

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IMAGE GALLERY Deep Ocean Diversity See some of the remarkable adaptations that deep-sea animals have evolved. Learn more about their habitat and how marine scientists research it in our Deep Ocean Exploration section.MORE GALLERIES


	ARTICLE MORE STORIES From Submarines to Robots: Exploring the Deep Ocean Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer James Cameron on March 25, 2012, beca...
	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Summer in a Sub: DROP Down to Discovery You never know where following your passions can take you. I came to the Smithso...
	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Millions of Brittlestars A huge colony of brittlestars (likely Ophiacantha rosea) covers the peak of a se...

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					Searching for Crustaceans in the Deep Sea May 16, 2013 - 9:04AMIn this video Smithsonian research zoologist Dr. Martha Nizinski takes viewers with her as she searches for crustaceans in the deep sea. She's particularly interested in finding squat lobsters, which despite their name, are...

Zombie Worms Eating Whale Bone

May 13, 2013 - 9:23AM

Zombie worms (Osedax roseus) eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has...

Scaly Dragonfish

May 8, 2013 - 9:26AM

The long barbel on the chin of this dragonfish (Stomias boa) has a glowing...

SPOTLIGHT


Marine Snow: A Staple of the Deep Snow on land can make some people grumpy, but the magical-looking flakes and a beautiful layer on the trees can turn even...

Submarine Volcanoes Erupting Jan 14 2011 - 1:41pm Did you know that 80 percent of the volcanic eruptions on Earth take place underwater? These underwater eruptions occur regularly, forming new landmasses and providing a living environment for deep-sea creatures. In 2009, scientists discovered the deepest ocean eruption ever found—the West Mata...	Seamounts, A Deep-Sea Habitat Dec 4 2009 - 3:41pm Thousands of seamounts—most of them undersea volcanoes—tower above the muddy seafloor. They provide something hard to come by in the deep ocean: a solid surface to cling to. This photo gallery shows some of the organisms that have found a suitable home on seamounts.
New Christmas Tree Coral Jun 7 2011 - 10:38am Ocean scientists recently discovered this new species of black coral off the coast of southern California.	A Voyage of Discovery to Inner Space Aug 13 2012 - 11:05am The Mars rover Curiosity is sending images back home: glimpses of another world during a voyage of discovery. While Curiosity is clicking pictures millions of miles away, I am privileged to be taking part in my own voyage of discovery to the inner space of this planet.
Red Paper Lantern Jellyfish: One Species at a Time Apr 26 2011 - 1:47pm The Encyclopedia of Life and Atlantic Public Media bring us a new installment of the podcast, One Species at a Time. Vacuumed up from its habitat a mile down in the ocean, the red paper lantern jelly may not look like much. Mostly water, it’s so fragile that once brought to the surface it...	Blind Lobster Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am This new species of lobster is blind—an adaptation to deep-sea life—and has very bizarre claws, or chelipeds. It was discovered about 300 meters (984 feet) deep in the Phillipine Sea by a Census of Marine Life expedition. Not only was this a new species, but it was placed in an entirely new genus...
Deep Sea Drilling Vessel Chikyu Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am This Japanese research ship Chikyu drills into the ocean floor to learn about Earth’s history and structure, and the mechanism of earthquakes in particular. Completed in 2005, it is the first scientific research ship that can drill up to 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) below the ocean floor to obtain...	Solitary Deep-water Corals Oct 5 2012 - 3:42pm These corals from the Smithsonian collections are Stephanocyathus (A.) spiniger, a solitary, deep-water stony coral species. Around 74% of all deep-water corals are solitary, living as individual organisms instead of forming large colonies like most shallow-water corals. This one has six long...
Deep-Sea Worms Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am These deep-sea photographs show a variety of broad-collared enteropneusts or acorn worms. These wormlike animals make spiral tracks on the sea floor. All the species shown here are new to science, and most have not yet been collected by scientists. More about deep ocean exploration can be found in...	Black Corals Jun 7 2011 - 12:29pm Black corals, like this one growing on the Manning Seamount off the New England coast, often resemble bushes or trees. Contrary to its name, the living tissue of black coral can be one of several colors. It’s the skeleton that is black. See more pictures of coral in our Deep-sea Corals article.
Shallow and Deep-Sea Coral Reefs Jun 7 2011 - 9:10am Unlike the shallow tropical coral reef pictured on the top, the deep-sea Oculina reef at bottom does not require sunlight. Learn more in the article "Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea."	Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) Video Jul 5 2011 - 1:19pm Dr. Carole Baldwin, a research zoologist and fish expert with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, gives viewers an inside-look at the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). She and her colleagues are trying to understand the biodiversity in coral reefs near Curaçao, an island in...
New Soft Coral Jun 7 2011 - 1:33pm Discovered in 2004 and named in 2009, this Gersemia juliepackardae coral has been spotted and collected at several seamounts in the northeast Pacific Ocean at depths of 500-2,000 m (1,640-6,562 ft). Learn about more deep-sea discoveries in our Deep-sea Corals article.	The Deep Sea Jul 24 2012 - 1:41pm Deep below the ocean’s surface is a mysterious world that takes up 95% of Earth’s living space. It could hide 20 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other. But the deep sea remains largely unexplored. Dive down 650 feet (one monument or 200 meters), and you notice that light starts fading...
Submersible Launch Jun 7 2011 - 10:00am The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory’s Pisces V submersible is lowered for a dive to study deep-sea corals. Learn more about research into deep-sea corals in the multimedia feature "Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea."	Photographing Coral Samples Jun 7 2011 - 1:02pm After ocean scientists sort deep-sea corals according to their different types, they carefully measure and photograph the specimens. Find out how ocean scientists study deep-sea corals in our Deep-sea Corals article.