7 things scuba divers, surfers should know about the ocean

About 71 percent of the earth’s surface is said to be covered with water

These bodies of water are riddled with mystery.

Here are seven things from the Science Show that you probably didn’t know about the ocean.

The ocean floor

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says 95 percent of the ocean’s bottom remains unseen by humans, which means we have a better picture of the surfaces of other planets that of the ocean floor.

Under the seafloor

There is life under the seafloor.

In 2015, scientists reported that they had drilled down about 2.5km below the seafloor off the coast of Japan and discovered living microbes.

There were only about 10-10,000 micro-organisms in a cubic centimeter of sediment that they studied compared to the billions that you would find in the same amount of dirt from your garden.

The genomes of these undersea microbes were more similar to those found in forest soil rather than the ones found in seafloor sediment.

Brine pools

These are pockets of seawater that have a different composition than the surrounding ocean because they are extremely salty.

Brine pools are formed when layers of salt from evaporated oceans, millions of years ago, got buried under layers of sediment.

Seawater can reach these deposits and mix with the salt to form a dense brine that flows out of the seafloor. It is sometimes filled with oils or methane gas.

Milky seas

Also known as Mareel, this is a phenomenon in which thousands of square kilometers of the ocean’s surface form a brilliant whitish blue glow.

It lasts for such a short time and there have been so few recorded sightings that these glowing seas were thought to be a myth.

The 52-hertz whale 

What whale is producing the 52-hertz song, and why?

This whale song was first noted by a technician on December 7, 1992 in the North East Pacific Ocean.

The high pitched sound seemed to be unique to one animal. The whale that came to be known as 52 Blue.

Whale cries are somewhere between 15-20 hertz.

Upsweep

This is a mystery sound recorded from the ocean in August 1991; it sounds like a repeating ‘boop’ called ‘upsweep’.

Since 1991, this sound has been heard over and over again in the Pacific, more common in spring and fall.

Ocean sounds are practically their own field of study. NOAA has been monitoring acoustics in the ocean for decades.

Instead of microphones which are used to collect sound and air, NOAA uses hydrophones to record under-water sounds.

Why are deep sea creatures so huge?

This phenomenon is known as deep sea gigantism yet the cause is unknown.

Theories suggest that gigantism may help organisms resist the pressure of the deep sea.