The Deep Ocean: Life in the Abyss

An epic excursion into one of the last great frontiers on Earth

The deep ocean comprises more than 90 percent of our planet’s biosphere and is home to some of the world’s most dazzling creatures, which thrive amid extreme pressures, scarce food supplies, and frigid temperatures. Living things down here behave in remarkable and surprising ways, and cutting-edge technologies are shedding new light on these critically important ecosystems. This beautifully illustrated book leads you down into the canyons, trenches, and cold seeps of the watery abyss, presenting the deep ocean and its inhabitants as you have never seen them before.

• Features a wealth of breathtaking photos, illustrations, and graphics
• Gives a brief and accessible history of deep-sea exploration
• Explains the basics of oceanography
• Covers a marvelous diversity of undersea organisms
• Describes habitats ranging from continental slopes to hydrothermal vents and abyssal plains
• Discusses humanity’s impacts on the deep ocean, from fisheries and whaling to global climate change and acidification
• Written by a team of world-class scientists

Michael Vecchione is a zoologist in the NOAA Systematics Lab at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Louise Allcock is lecturer in zoology at the National University of Ireland Galway. Imants Priede is professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Aberdeen. Hans van Haren is senior scientist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).