Gallery: Rich life under the sea

Gorgeous photographs of Gelatinous Zooplankton, Pelagic Molluscs, Crustacea, Eukrohnia, Tompteris, Colonial radiolarians and Globigerinoides ruber (pink variety)…

Census of Marine Life (2006) scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast U.S. coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, revealing a newfound variety of zooplankton and other small creatures.

OK, its a bit technical but anyway, they look cool.

From Livescience.com, an original content site that chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology.

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Google diving into 3D mapping of oceans

We’ve got Google Earth and Google Sky. Next up will be a map of the world below sea level–Google Ocean.

The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The tool–for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change–is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning. (The tool, however, is not to be confused with the “Google Ocean” project by France-based Magic Instinct Software that uses Google Earth as a visualization tool for marine data.)

From CNET : Read more

Giant sea creatures discovered in Antarctica

Researchers aboard the Aurora Australis, an Australian vessel, have discovered a trove of strange creatures on the sea floor near East Antarctica.

Some of the video footage we have collected is really stunning — it’s amazing to be able to navigate undersea mountains and valleys and actually see what the animals look like in their undisturbed state,” said Aurora Australis voyage leader Dr Martin Riddle.

“In some places every inch of the sea floor is covered in life. In other places we can see deep scars and gouges where icebergs scour the sea floor as they pass by. Gigantism is very common in Antarctic waters — we have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates.

From Mongabay.com. Read more here