Wild Ocean - Catherine Vadon

Wild Ocean

Summary:

From the coastal waters to the abyssal depths, an unprecedented journey to meet the wild life of the world ocean in all its diversity.The world ocean is immense. It covers three quarters of the planet, and its average depth is 3,600 meters. As for its ultimate bottom, it is located 11 km below the surface. It is in this colossal space that life appeared, more than 3.8 billion years ago. A world census has listed some 270,000 species, but thanks to the exploration of the deep sea and the world of the tiny ones, this number could rise to 1 to 2 million or even more. The life cycle of most of these species remains an enigma, and we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the bottom of the ocean. From the shores to the darkness of the abyss, from the tiny krill to the gigantic sperm whale, life is everywhere and of remarkable diversity, the fruit of millions of years of evolution. A gigantic thermal machine, the ocean plays a major role in the regulation of heat exchange and the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere. For a long time we thought that, as on land, sunlight was the essential engine of life, but the discovery of the unsuspected bestiary of hydrothermal volcanic springs has overturned our certainties. Yes, life can organize itself and develop without light, and even more so in a very toxic environment! The purpose of this beautiful book is to help us discover this remarkable oceanic biodiversity during a long and unprecedented exploration dive, from the coast to the great depths. How can we survive when we are small plankton, tossed about by the waters of the open sea and without any shelter to hide? How can a fish resist the formidable pressures that are exerted at a depth of 5,000 or 6,000 meters? How can they find food and communicate when they live in the eternal darkness of the great abyssal plains? These are some of the fascinating questions...