On dry land, most organisms are confined to the surface, or at most to altitudes of a hundred meters the height of the tallest trees. In the oceans, though, living space has both vertical and horizontal dimensions: with an average depth of 3800 meters, the oceans offer 99% of the space on Earth where life can develop. And the deep sea, which has been immersed in total darkness since the dawn of time, occupies 85% of ocean space, forming the planet s largest habitat. Yet these depths abound with mystery. The deep sea is mostly uncharted only about 5 percent of the seafloor has been mapped...
On dry land, most organisms are confined to the surface, or at most to altitudes of a hundred meters the height of the tallest trees. In the oceans...
