Source: New Internationalist
Author: Diva Amon
I’m on a ship 1,600 kilometres away from the nearest landmass. It has taken us five days to get from California to the middle of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Our team sends a remotely operated vehicle 4.5 kilometres down to a flat abyssal plain that has never been explored by humans before.
As deep-sea biologists, we are privileged to see incredible sights and discover new species and habitats on every research cruise. And this time is no exception: an anemone-like animal with three-metre tentacles that billow across the seafloor, purple, pink and yellow sea cucumbers, incredibly delicate white corals, and flower-like glass sponges.
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