The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
by Claire Nouvian
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Book Summary Information
Author: Claire NouvianEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-03-15
ISBN: 0226595668
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Book Reviews of The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
Book Review: Mind-Boggling Voyage: Like a Trip to an Alien Star System
Summary: 5 Stars
Many people are attracted to science fiction because the writers make interesting speculations about how life can be different under conditions other than those we experience as humans. Such books often conjure up images of bug-eyed aliens with beautiful colors and amazingly symmetrical features.
Others love to see photographs of exotic wild animals, whether beautiful prey surviving amidst the carnivores in the African veldt, rare species on volcanic islands in the Galapagos, or male Emperor Penguins huddling to keep their eggs warm during the worst of the Antarctic winter. You can't help but change your life perspective by seeing those images.
If either shift in focus appeals to you, you have the treat of a lifetime ahead of you: The Deep will change your view of life forever.
Simply because we couldn't explore the depths of the ocean until very recently, people assumed that nothing was going on far beneath the surface. I can see why. I once took a harbor cruise in a submarine and we didn't have to go down very far before all color was leached out of the water and there was a desert around us. Naturally, the further away from the surface, the less light and oxygen there are. Life as we are used to it require lots of both.
But the oceans hold many surprises. The mountain ranges in the oceans are taller than the Himalayas. The canyons make the Grand Canyon look tiny by comparison. Around vents of volcanic discharge in rift zones, toxic minerals are transformed into useful food by bacteria and life flourishes based on different chemistry than we see on the surface. A dead whale can create an oasis of life deep in the ocean for decades. Methane seeps can also feed life and make it flourish. Deep sea coral are vaster than those we see in atolls. Jelly fishes and sea cucumbers flourish at incredible depths and in intense pressures. And it's not always dark. Many creatures provide their own light and can vary the intensity and color at will to look like the ocean itself -- a whole new dimension to camouflage.
Migrations of species vary also. The daily rhythm is to go up or down in depth to take advantage of food and to avoid predators. Seasonally, the vertical migration also occurs for similar reasons. Tiny creatures may swim thousands of meters up and down as a result.
The variety of life in the deep oceans is staggering: Most of the species on earth are there . . . and most have not yet been seen. There are probably 10 million species we haven't experienced yet. Can you imagine that?
The beauty and the eeriness of these creatures are almost beyond description. Some look like a science fiction illustrator's view of Martians. Others look like prehistoric creatures . . . and indeed some of the species are hundreds of millions of years old.
There's also a human lesson here: Like in most of the earth, the natural beauty is being plundered for gain. While deep sea trawling only captures 0.2 percent of the world's catch, it is destroying areas bigger than Europe as habitats for exotic life forms. Because these areas are outside the boundaries of any country, they are harvested in unlimited ways.
You'll gaze in wonder at these photographs and have your mind expanded wonderfully by the excellent essays in the book.
Unlike many books that capture images of animals, many of these photographs are larger than life . . . allowing you to enhance your observations over what you could experience in the wild. If you are like me, you'll wonder why the author put in four computer-generated images that obviously look phony. The real thing is unbelievably amazing without any tricks.
Deepen your sense of wonder at God's amazing creation with The Deep.
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