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Earth science · Oceanography

Ocean Deep

Ride a submersible from the surface to 11 kilometres down: watch the colours vanish, the pressure climb, the glow-in-the-dark animals appear, and run the ocean's global conveyor belt.

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The course

7 worlds · 27 lessons

World 1 · The Ocean Zones

FREEScale, layers, pressure and temperature on the way down
  1. 01Planet OceanA water world · 7 min
  2. 02The five depth zonesSunlit, twilight, midnight, abyss, trench · 8 min
  3. 03Pressure under the sea+1 atmosphere every 10 metres · 10 min
  4. 04A dive profileTemperature, layers and the thermocline · 8 min

World 2 · Light and Colour

PROWhat the sun can reach, and how animals cope with the dark
  1. 01Where did the red go?Light fades with depth · 9 minPRO
  2. 02The great night-time commuteVertical migration · 7 minPRO
  3. 03Glowing in the darkBioluminescence · 9 minPRO
  4. 04Living under pressureAdaptations of deep animals · 9 minPRO

World 3 · Life Without Sunlight

PROFalling food, hot vents and whale skeletons
  1. 01Marine snowFood falling from above · 8 minPRO
  2. 02Vents in the darkHydrothermal vents · 9 minPRO
  3. 03ChemosynthesisEnergy from chemistry · 9 minPRO
  4. 04Falls and seepsMore oases on the sea floor · 7 minPRO

World 4 · Currents and the Conveyor

PROWhy water moves, sinks and rises
  1. 01Salt and heat set the densityWhy cold, salty water sinks · 8 minPRO
  2. 02The wind-driven surface currentsGyres · 9 minPRO
  3. 03The global conveyor beltThermohaline circulation · 9 minPRO
  4. 04Upwelling and fisheriesWhere the food comes back up · 8 minPRO

World 5 · Why Waves Break

PROFrom open-ocean swell to the surf zone
  1. 01Anatomy of a waveHeight, length, period · 8 minPRO
  2. 02Deep water, shallow waterSpeed depends on depth · 9 minPRO
  3. 03Why waves breakShoaling and the 0.78 rule · 9 minPRO
  4. 04Rip currentsReading the beach safely · 8 minPRO

World 6 · Coral Reefs Under Stress

PROLiving stone, bleaching and sour water
  1. 01What is a reef?Animals that build stone cities · 8 minPRO
  2. 02Heat and bleachingLosing the algae · 9 minPRO
  3. 03AcidificationShells that struggle · 9 minPRO
  4. 04Healing the reefWhat helps · 7 minPRO

World 7 · Exploring the Deep

PROSound, steel and a fleet of robot floats
  1. 01Mapping with soundSonar · 8 minPRO
  2. 02Building a submersiblePressure hulls · 9 minPRO
  3. 03Listening, tagging, citizen scienceOcean science today · 8 minPRO