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Deep Sea Treasure

Deep sea vents hide some of the last great mysteries of the planet. Tom Heap hears about the extraordinary sights wintessed by the latest team of explorers.

Our explorations of the deep oceans have so far given us only tantalising glimpses of weird and wonderful species. A team from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton is currently sailing through the Caribbean and the Southern Ocean on a mission to provide us with much more than a few fuzzy photos of a giant worm or an upside down prawn.

They want to tie-up the loose ends, telling us just how the many islands of life in the deep actually interact. They hope their mission will greatly aid conservation efforts and make the exploitation of the ocean's resources fairer and more sustainable.

'Costing the Earth' joins the expedition as it sails from southern Chile and launches Isis, a remote-controlled submarine armed, for the first time, with high definition cameras.

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30 minutes

Last on

Wed 14 Apr 2010 21:00

Broadcast

  • Wed 14 Apr 2010 21:00

What has happened to the world's coral?

What has happened to the world's coral?

In 2016 reefs around the world the size of city blocks died. Here we explore why.

Podcast