Chapter 3
Diving into the Abysses
Abstract Most of the Earth’s surface is under water. The hostile environment of
the underwater world makes it difficult for direct exploration by human beings.
Underwater visibility is limited, it is impossible for humans to breathe in water, its
salty nature makes seawater denser than air (about 1300 times heavier than air),
and underwater currents tend to displace any man-made engines at depth. Despite
these difficulties, humans have always been attracted to the underwater world.
Since antiquity men and women have tried to penetrate the sea and elucidate its
mysteries. In 1934, exploration with manned submersibles first became a reality.
Even if technology has advanced our capabilities, the spirit of underwater
exploration has remained the same. Each dive into the unknown is a unique and
exciting experience, bringing both joy and fear.
Why Do We Explore the Sea Floor?
It is important to investigate the sea floor and its environment because this will
increase our knowledge of the hidden parts of our planet’s interior. Below the sea
floor’s surface, the rigid lithosphere is thinner and therefore closer to the Earth’s
more ductile Mantle where most of the transfer of matter and energy takes place
(See Chap. 2). By exploring the sea floor, we have a better chance to comprehend
the internal structure and evolution of our Earth.
Seawater covers 71 % of our planet. Five oceans cover the Earth. The largest is
the Pacific Ocean, which equals 46 % of all the World’s oceans. The Atlantic
equals 26 %, the Indian Ocean is equivalent to 21 %, the Antarctic is 6 % and the
Arctic represents 4 % of our planet’s total ocean coverage. As of today (2013) we
have explored less than 30 % of the sea floor.
Our reasons for exploring the ocean’s depths could be purely scientific, since
we want to know more about the Earth and its history, but there is also an
economic incentive for increasing our knowledge about the sea floor because our
mineral resources on emerged landmasses are limited. However, the most probable
R. Hekinian, Sea Floor Exploration, Springer Oceanography,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-03203-0_3,
Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
53
Diving into the Abysses
Abstract Most of the Earth’s surface is under water. The hostile environment of
the underwater world makes it difficult for direct exploration by human beings.
Underwater visibility is limited, it is impossible for humans to breathe in water, its
salty nature makes seawater denser than air (about 1300 times heavier than air),
and underwater currents tend to displace any man-made engines at depth. Despite
these difficulties, humans have always been attracted to the underwater world.
Since antiquity men and women have tried to penetrate the sea and elucidate its
mysteries. In 1934, exploration with manned submersibles first became a reality.
Even if technology has advanced our capabilities, the spirit of underwater
exploration has remained the same. Each dive into the unknown is a unique and
exciting experience, bringing both joy and fear.
Why Do We Explore the Sea Floor?
It is important to investigate the sea floor and its environment because this will
increase our knowledge of the hidden parts of our planet’s interior. Below the sea
floor’s surface, the rigid lithosphere is thinner and therefore closer to the Earth’s
more ductile Mantle where most of the transfer of matter and energy takes place
(See Chap. 2). By exploring the sea floor, we have a better chance to comprehend
the internal structure and evolution of our Earth.
Seawater covers 71 % of our planet. Five oceans cover the Earth. The largest is
the Pacific Ocean, which equals 46 % of all the World’s oceans. The Atlantic
equals 26 %, the Indian Ocean is equivalent to 21 %, the Antarctic is 6 % and the
Arctic represents 4 % of our planet’s total ocean coverage. As of today (2013) we
have explored less than 30 % of the sea floor.
Our reasons for exploring the ocean’s depths could be purely scientific, since
we want to know more about the Earth and its history, but there is also an
economic incentive for increasing our knowledge about the sea floor because our
mineral resources on emerged landmasses are limited. However, the most probable
R. Hekinian, Sea Floor Exploration, Springer Oceanography,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-03203-0_3,
Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
53