Deep Sea Matters

Over the last few years, discussions about the deep sea have surged into the spotlight, sparking widespread conversations about the future of our oceans and their resources. A key factor underpinning this dialogue is just how little we really know about these vast waters, with over 80 percent of the seafloor still unmapped by humans and shrouded in mystery.

This leaves us wondering, what hidden knowledge might the ocean’s unexplored depths hold? And how are scientists using their current knowledge to navigate the path to new discoveries?

In his work as a professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaiʻi and as an investigator of the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology, Ed DeLong is particularly interested in understanding the community dynamics and ecological significance of microorganisms in the ocean. Although scientists have confirmed that these tiny creatures play a major role in moving things around and providing energy to marine ecosystems, little is known about how the microbes function and interact.

Caribbean marine biologist Diva Amon has spent countless hours exploring the ocean’s mysterious depths where unusual and wonderful animals thrive in habitats of which we know very little. Her expeditions have given her a firsthand understanding of the critical importance of these underwater ecosystems and their impact on the small island nations that rely on their vitality, driving her to advocate for science-driven ocean policies and governance frameworks that elevate the voices of those most affected.

Join them as they sit down with Jess Harrop, executive director of Sandbox Films, for a conversation that will dive into the role that deep-sea research can play in policymaking, insights into recent discoveries and just how much there is still to uncover.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Diva Amon is a marine biologist focused on the little-known habitats and animals of the deep ocean and how our actions impact them. She works at the nexus of science, policy and communication. She deeply desires to see stewardship measures applied to the deep ocean and more of humankind engaged in this effort. Amon is a science advisor to the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a founder and director of SpeSeas, an organization dedicated to marine science, education, and advocacy in her home country, Trinidad and Tobago.

Ed DeLong is a professor of oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i and a visiting professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. DeLong has spent most of his career developing molecular biological and genomic approaches to study naturally occurring microbial communities in the ocean. Over the course of developing these new approaches, DeLong and collaborators have made fundamental discoveries about the nature and properties of microbial life in the sea. Such findings include the recognition of two new types of abundant marine archaea in coastal marine habitats, the identification of methane-consuming Archaea in anoxic marine sediments, and the identification and characterization of the first known light-driven ion pumps (called proteorhodopsins) in marine bacteria.