10 Most Bizarre Facts About the Deep Ocean

This can make it hard to believe some of the strange facts that have been discovered about the deep ocean, and the creatures that live there. Nevertheless, here are 10 of the most bizarre facts about the deep ocean that have been scientifically verified so far

#1 How Big Is the Deep Ocean?

The deep ocean is a pretty big place, with depths that go down to 11,000 meters (36,527 feet). That's over three miles below the surface. In fact, if you took all of Earth's water and put it into a single ball, about 97% of it would be in our oceans. The deepest point on Earth is Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - at nearly seven miles deep. At this depth, there are no fish or other signs of life – just an almost total absence of light. But at some points in its descent, the temperature can get as high as 220 degrees Fahrenheit!

#2 The Tallest Mountain in the World Rises From Its Depths

The tallest mountain in the world rises from its depths. The underwater mountain, known as Mauna Kea, is a whopping 33,600 feet tall and lies at a depth of roughly 3700 meters below sea level. Located near Hawaii, it is close to both the equator and the North Pole and provides a unique view of Earth's atmosphere.

Mauna Kea is also an important site for scientific research as it provides views of stars that are obscured by water droplets in our sky. A project called the Submillimeter Array has been set up on the summit of Mauna Kea to observe these faraway stars. This array has been so successful in the studies that researchers have renamed it ALMA--the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array--after their home country Chile! It is now one of the most powerful telescopes in the world.

Mauna Kea can be seen from space as well: NASA uses high-resolution satellites such as Landsat and Aqua to monitor global trends like forest fires and deforestation, which can be seen from above.

Despite being submerged underwater, Mauna Kea still boasts some impressive numbers: it reaches over 29000 feet high when including height lost due to subsidence (6) and covers about 830 square miles (7).

#3 Sea Mounts From Our Planet's Fringes

Seamounts are created from underwater volcanic activity and can reach up to 6,000 meters in height. They are found on the edges of continental plates where tectonic plates collide, and they tend to form chains when they erupt. These chains can stretch for hundreds of miles, with some reaching as far as 500 kilometers. Sea mounts are also composed of mineral-rich rock that is heavier than water, which causes them to sink into the deep ocean floor over time. Some sea mounts will continue to grow after submerging below the surface, but it takes years or even centuries for this process to take place. The current tallest sea mount was discovered by scientists in 1989 off the coast of New Zealand's North Island at a depth of 4500 meters (14750 feet). It's about 3 times taller than Mount Everest!

#4 Gigantic Ecosystems Live Inside of Muck Dredges

Some of the most bizarre deep-sea creatures live in muck dredges. These are huge machines that remove debris and sludge from seabeds. They are often found in shallow waters, but some live in deep water, up to 3,000 feet below sea level. The creatures that live inside these dredges can be very diverse, with a variety of fish and shellfish as well as other animals like marine mammals and crustaceans. Many of them are difficult to identify because they have never been seen before or because there is not enough data on them. These giant machinery dumps have been explored for years by scientists, but many mysteries remain about what kind of life is living there.

#5 Longest Corridors Can Take Days to Cross

In some regions of the ocean, like the Mariana Trench, it can take days to cross one of these long corridors. That's because they're so long and deep that they require a lot of time to traverse.

The corridors are created by plate tectonics and are typically between 200-1000 miles wide, with walls that typically reach 10,000 feet in height. They provide an important means for fish to migrate from one region to another during their life cycles. Other species of animals also call these corridors home, including invertebrates such as amphipods, shrimp, and cephalopods such as squid.

The fastest currents travel at around 3 knots (3 kilometers per hour). For most of us who travel on Earth's surface, that may seem slow. But when you're in the deepest parts of our world, every minute counts!

#6 Where Hot Water Springs from Earth's Interior

The deep ocean is so mysterious that scientists are still trying to figure out what it's like miles below its surface. One thing they do know is that it is home to hot springs, or geysers, of water that gushes from the earth's interior. The water can reach temperatures up to 558 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius) and does not come from rain, snow, or any other form of precipitation. Instead, it rises through cracks in the earth's crust called hydrothermal vents. These fissures release natural gases and minerals as well as heat and sometimes sulfuric acid into the seawater around them.

A big challenge for researchers is finding these hydrothermal vents because their plumes of heated water aren't visible in thermal images taken by satellites or ship-based cameras. Instead, they use chemical tracers and sound waves to find them. Scientists also use specially designed robotic submarines to explore hydrothermal vents more closely. They can send back high-resolution video footage of some areas before humans ever set foot there!

#7 There Are Islands That Float on the Surface

One of the most fascinating discoveries in recent years is that there are islands that float on the surface. They are called Floating Islands and they were first discovered by a National Geographic team at a depth of 2.6 miles beneath Antarctica. This area is called Challenger Deep. The islands float because of volcanic activity below, which releases gas bubbles that cause them to rise to the surface. These islands are home to many unique species and have been dubbed an ecological hotspot. Though they seem like something out of a science fiction movie, these beautiful areas are not only real but thriving. With more research into these mysterious floating islands, we may be able to learn more about what causes this phenomenon and how it could help save our environment!

Some of these islands are massive and are so large that they have actually been named. For example, one is called South Georgia Island and is located in a remote area near Antarctica, known as a Super-gigantic Submarine Volcano. Another island that has gotten quite a bit of attention is called North Brother Island, and it sits just outside Sydney Harbor in Australia. This volcanic island is about 50 acres or 22 hectares in size! Though these islands may look serene and beautiful from above, there are strong currents that can flow through them at depths of up to 100 miles per hour! These islands are truly mysterious and fascinating, not only because of how they form but also because we don't know much about them yet.

#8 Fish You Can't See With Your Eyes Underwater

It is also thought that some of these fish may be able to see with their skin. This theory is supported by the fact that some species of fish are known to have light-sensitive cells called photophores on their skin.

We suspect they can see with their skin, said Lisa Levin, a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. It's kind of like an inner eye. It's very tough to study because it requires high levels of technical expertise and expensive equipment.

But what we do know is that they produce their own electric field, which enables them to detect minute movements and vibrations in the water around them. These electric fields allow them to navigate without sight or hearing.

Levin suggests this type of movement sensing ability could also mean these fish are using photosensitive cells as well—just not for vision but for something more like touch sensitivity.

#9 Creatures Too Weird for Fiction Exist Down Here

The deepest known point in the ocean is over 36,000 feet deep. If you were to look up at it, you’d be staring at a wall of water more than three times taller than Mount Everest. It’s not like scientists are just guessing, either; they’ve had a manned submersible dive as deep as Challenger Deep to measure its depth. And what do they find? Fish that have evolved for billions of years with no light and little food to consume. Creatures are so weird they don’t seem real. There are even fossils found on the sea floor that date back 500 million years. So there you go: That’s how deep down we’re talking about here. You might think this sounds ridiculous, but believe us when we say there really is life way down there.

#10 There Is More to the World Beneath Us Than We Know

Although we've made strides in exploring the deep ocean, there's still so much we don't know about it. The vast majority of what lies beneath is unexplored and largely unknown by humans. It's been estimated that 99% of all life on Earth lives in this world below the waves. And yet, we're just starting to learn more about it with new research and exploration. For example, did you know that some creatures from the deepest reaches of the ocean could be living for up to 200 years? That's right, there are animals down there that can live to be twice your age! In addition, researchers found two new species of crab only a few miles away from each other near hydrothermal vents! Many mysteries are waiting to be uncovered under the surface.

The deep ocean is home to some of the strangest creatures on Earth, and there are still a lot of things we don't know about it. It's a fascinating habitat that we've only begun to explore and understand. In many ways, it seems like another world entirely.

The deepest point in the ocean lies at 11km (6 miles) below sea level and is known as Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - which was discovered by James Cook in 1775. And while many of us might think these depths remain unexplored, they're teeming with life!