The oceans of the earth are pretty deep. Deeper than most of us would think. The ocean covers 70% of the Earth's surface. It contains about 1.35 billion cubic kilometres (324 million cubic miles) of water, about 97% of all the water on Earth. An estimated 50-80% of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet.
With these interesting facts, let’s start our plunge into the ocean, shall we?
At 40 metres deep, we find the maximum depth allowed for recreational scuba diving. A little deeper at 100 metres, humans must be cautious while swimming because of decompression sickness. Although it is possible to free dive to a depth that is deeper than 100 metres; the world record for freediving is an impressive 214 metres.
At 332 metres, we reach the distance for the world record for the deepest scuba dive.
At 500 metres, we reach the maximum dive depth of blue whales, the largest creatures on the planet. This is where we must note the extreme water pressure experienced by creatures. The pressure experienced by whales at this depth is equal to the pressure exerted by a horse on the edge of a coin.
At 1 kilometre or 1,000 metres deep, we arrive at the ‘dark zone’. Light from the sun, striking the surface of the ocean, fails to travel beyond this point. Thus, the rest of the sea below is enveloped in permanent darkness. This is where one would be able to see Giant Squids if they had not already succumbed to the gigantic water pressure.
At 2,000 metres, we would see the more ominous and unknown creatures. At this depth, we see creatures like the Black Dragonfish, a carnivorous Pisces with a body that does not allow light to be emitted, making it impossible to see unless a light is flashed on it.
At 4,267 metres we reach the average depth of the ocean, where we would normally reach the ocean floor. However, there are parts of the ocean that go much deeper than this.
At 6,000 metres we reach the Hadal Zone, named after the God of the underworld in Greek mythology, Hades. The water pressure experienced here is more than 1,000 times greater than the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level.
Finally, at 10,994 metres, we reach the deepest known part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep. The Challenger Deep is located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, near the Mariana Islands.
What a journey! Nevertheless, there is more to the ocean.
It is believed that there are almost certainly even deeper parts of the ocean than the Challenger Deep, which we simply have not explored. It is estimated that only 5% of the Ocean has been accurately mapped, leaving 95% of the Ocean to explore.
This truly makes one realise how insignificant we are in comparison to the rest of the Earth. It will leave behind millions of things for us to discover, hidden somewhere in its massive self, shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, another way to look at this is that we have the opportunity to find so many new parts of the mystery that is our Ocean, together.
Bibliography:
Stewart, Anthony. “All about the Ocean.” National Geographic Society. n.a. Web. 21 Jun, 2022.<https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/all-about-the-ocean>
The Economist. “Secrets of the Deep Ocean | the Economist.” YouTube. 21 Jun, 2019. Video. 22 Jun, 2022. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwgtn41TpfU>
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