An Ocean Of Mysteries

Earth’s biggest habitat is also the one that we know the least about. A new wave of innovators is engineering the technology that will help us find out more – here’s what they are discovering

- Dr Helen Scales

The oceans are the biggest, wildest, least understood part of the planet. But we’re getting to know them better every day, thanks to a host of technologies that are fathoming the depths in new and inventive ways. Some researchers are capturing things from the sea and transporting them into the lab to study in detail; others rig the oceans with novel sensors and devices or probing them with algorithms. Together, these approaches are offering brand new views of the underwater world, at a time when it’s never been more important to decipher the inner workings of the oceans.

From coral reefs to deep-dwelling jellies, the oceans’ living inhabitants face more significant human activities threats than ever before. The seas are polluted and overfished, marine habitats are being destroyed, and new impacts – such as deep-sea mining – are fast approaching. It’s also becoming increasingly clear just how critical the oceans are for the rest of life on Earth. These enormous, ever-shifting waters play a vital role in weather and climate systems, provide food and livelihoods for human populations worldwide, and are home to great swathes of unknown biodiversity. To understand and protect life on this planet, we have to look to the ocean.

VIRTUAL E-REEF BUILDERS

Not so long ago, the primary way marine biologists studied coral reefs was to scuba dive for an hour or so and noted down what they saw on waterproof slates. Now, during a single dive, they can take photographs that can be stitched together into a detailed, three-dimensional view of the reef. “It’s underwater virtual reality,” says Prof Stuart Sandin, a marine biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. “It makes you feel like you’re immersed.”