Deep Sea Footage of New Hebrides Trench in Pacific Ocean

  • 10 years ago
Have you ever wondered what kind of animals are living in the deepest parts of the ocean? Researchers from Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, working with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand have taken the first images from the previously unexplored New Hebrides Trench located off the north coast of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean.

Have you ever wondered what kinds of animals are living in the deepest parts of the ocean?

Researchers from Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, working with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand have taken the first images from the previously unexplored New Hebrides Trench located 1000 miles off the north coast of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean.

Using an unmanned submersible lander with bait to attract underwater life, the researchers were able to capture images of cusk eels and crustaceans that live 23 thousand feet below the surface of the water.

Some animals were even brought back to the surface for further study.

The researchers used the data to compare with studies of other deep sea trenches and found significant differences.

Doctor Alan Jamieson, from Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen who led the expedition, is quoted as saying: “Fish were surprisingly few in number and low in diversity and not at all what we expected. The area in and around the New Hebrides Trench was swarming with large bright red prawns which are typically seen in very low numbers in other areas.”

There are reportedly over 30 deep sea trenches in the oceans of the world, and scientists are just now getting to explore them.

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