How Great is the Amazon River?

The Amazon is the greatest river in the world by so many measures; the volume of water
it carries to the sea (approximately 20% of all the freshwater discharge into the oceans),
the area of land that drains into it, and its length and width. It is one of the longest rivers
in the world and, depending upon who you talk to, is anywhere between
6,259km/3,903mi and 6,712km/4,195mi long.
For the last century the length of the Amazon and the Nile Rivers have been in a tight
battle for title of world's longest river. The exact length of the two rivers varies over time
and reputable sources disagree as to their actual length. The Nile River in Africa is
reported to be anywhere from at 5,499km/3,437mi to 6,690km/4,180mi long. But there is
no question as to which of the two great rivers carries the greater volume of water - the
Amazon River.

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At its widest point the Amazon River can be 11km/6.8 mi wide during the dry season.
The area covered by the Amazon River and its tributaries more than triples over the
course of a year. In an average dry season 110,000 square km of land are water-covered,
while in the wet season the flooded area of the Amazon Basin rises to 350,000 square km.
When the flood plains and the Amazon River Basin flood during the rainy season the
Amazon River can be up to 40km/24.8 mi wide. Where the Amazon opens at its estuary
the river is over 325km/202 mi wide!

Because the Amazon drains the entire Northern half of the South American continent
(approx. 40% landmass), including all the torrential tropical rains that deluge the
rainforests, it carries an enormous amount of water. The mouth of the Amazon River,
where it meets the sea, is so wide and deep that ocean-going ships have navigated its
waters and traveled as far inland as two-thirds the way up the entire length of the river.

The Amazon - Home of Extremes

The Amazon River is not only the greatest in the world, it is home to many other
"Extremes" of the natural world. Have you ever seen a catfish? They're usually found in
warm, slow moving waters of lakes and streams, and some people keep them as pets in
aquariums. Catfish are pretty creepy looking fish with big flat heads and "whiskers" on
either side of their heads (hence the name, catfish). Most catfish that we're familiar with
here in the U.S. are anywhere from eight inches long to about five feet, weighing in at up
to 60 pounds. But the catfish that live in the world's greatest river have all the room in the
world to grow as big as nature will allow - they have been captured weighing over 200
pounds! One of the largest freshwater fish in the world is found living in the waters of the
Amazon River. Arapaima, also known locally as Pirarucu, Arapaima gigas are the largest,
exclusively fresh water fish in the world. They have been found to reach a length of 15
ft/4m and can weigh up to 440lbs/200kg. And yes, for you smartypants out there,
sturgeon are even larger than this, but they are not exclusively freshwater fish. Sturgeon
spend most of their lives at sea, or in brackish water, and only swim into freshwater rivers
to spawn. (Read about the biggest freshwater fish in the world.)

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The Amazon is also home to some other extreme creatures, featured here in "Extreme
Science"; the Anaconda (biggest snake), and Piranha (most ferocious). Check it out!

Amazon River Facts

So, how did the Amazon get to be so big? The first reason has to do with its location -
right at the equator. Around the "belt line" of the earth lies a warm, tropical zone where
over 400 in/1016cm of rain fall every year. That averages out to more than an inch (3cm)
of rain, everyday! A lot of water falls onto the land surrounding the river, what is called
the "Amazon River drainage basin". A good way to understand what a drainage basin is
to think of the whole northern half of the continent of South America as a shallow dish,
or saucer. Whenever rain falls and lands anywhere in the river basin it all runs into the
lowest place in the pan, which happens to be the Amazon River. The sheer volume of rain
in the Amazon jungle, as well as the slope of the surrounding land, combine to create the
enormous river known as the Amazon.

MEKONG CATFISH
Freshwater Fish Re

It is said that the largest freshwater

Location: Hard to say. world lives, of course, in the larges
Scientists are still researching river in the world - the Amazon Riv
which species of freshwater
fish grow the largest America. Arapaima, also known loc
specimens. The National Pirarucu, Arapaima gigas are belie
Geographic is funding a
worldwide study to investigate largest, exclusively fresh water fish
the "maximum" species. Could They have been found to reach a le
be the Arapaima, Mekong
Catfish, or Chinese Paddlefish. ft/4m and can weigh up to 440lbs/2
yes, for you smartypants out there,
Facts: The largest even larger than this, but they are n
(authenticated) freshwater fish
on record seems to be a giant freshwater fish. Sturgeon spend mo
Mekong Catfish captured in May lives at sea, or in brackish water, a
of 2005 in Thailand. It was nine
feet long and weighed 646 lbs. into freshwater rivers to spawn. Ara
like sturgeon, a very primitive form
covered in very large, bony-like sca
members of the Osteoglossidae, ha
The Scientists Who Study this
Cool Stuff?
tongue", that has a second set of te
Biologists, Ichthyologists. embedded into it. This allows it to c
catfish that are protected by armoured plates.
Links:
National Geographic News
CNN Story on Mekong Catfish
Wiki Page on Mekong Catfish

Giant Catfish

Another
impressively large freshwater fish that was recently caught seems to ha
Arapaima record out of the water - the Giant Mekong catfish (Pangasiu
fish in the photo below was captured by some fisherman in Thailand wh
species is considered endangered, but can still be caught with special
fish was turned in to the Department of Fisheries where the eggs and s
collected from these rare giants and harvested for a captive breeding p
keep the species alive.

This giant catfish caught in May of 2005 was 9 feet long and weighed 646
more than 5 times bigger than the 'world record' catfish caught in North
 This giant catfish inhabits the waters of
River in China, which flows southward
Southeast Asia. This fish is found as fa
Cambodia and Thailand where it is kno
Buk, which means simply "huge fish".T
dimensions of these catfish are very im
the largest supposedly growing up to 1
weighing up to 660lbs/300kg.

The European wels (Silurus glanis) is t

the catfish family, growing to 16.6ft/5 m
weighing as much as 726lbs/330 kg. E
Science has been unable to verify this

ANACONDA
Eunectes murinus

Which is the Bigge

Location: In rivers that feed
into the Amazon River in South
America. If you look in the records th
controversy over which sn
Facts: The largest anaconda world's record for massive
ever measured was almost 28
feet long with a girth of 44 dimensions that have earn
inches. She wasn't weighed at anaconda the title of king i
the time she was caught, but
scientists estimate that she body mass or its weight (th
must have weighed over 500
lbs.
physical bulk of it). The oth
competes with the anacon
Asiatic Reticulated Python
reticulatus). The python holds the world's record for length of a snake, w
The Scientists Who Study this longest ever measured at 33 feet. Even though the longest python is lo
Cool Stuff?
Biologists, Herpetologists,
record-holding anaconda, the girth of the anaconda is far bigger. Anaco
Zoologists. Meet one here on jungles of South America can grow as big around as a grown man!
Extreme Science; Dr. Jesus
Rivas...
The Secret Life of an Anaconda
Links:
Nashville Zoo Anacondas in the wild spend most of their time hanging out in rivers hu
Dr. Rivas' Anaconda site food. They are solitary creatures that are somewhat shy and not many
easily seen. They are very well camouflaged in the swamps and bogs i
thrive. There are some historical reports of early European explorers of
American jungles seeing giant anacondas up to 100 feet long and som

of the native peoples of the South

American jungle have reported
seeing anacondas up to 50 feet long. No one has caught and measure
anaconda anywhere near that size. It is important to note that when a d
anaconda's hide or skin is laid out it can be stretched very easily, expa
longer lengths than the snake exhibited when alive. Reports of outsize
that cannot be verified are usually due to distortions in perception, or a
being disproportionately stretched and inaccurately measured. People
really bad at estimating length, especially for larger snakes. In fact, the
snake, the larger the margin of error.

Anacondas like to h
rivers so it would be
estimate the length
swimming, without s
entire snake. It's the
ability to remain part
the water that make
accurately find (and
specimen that excee
current world's reco
you want to jump in
after a giant anacon
measure a snake bi
kill you?)
Read about a scien
does wade into the
capture giant anac
Close view of the head of an anaconda
wild and study the
swimming in a river
Buy this Framed Art Print Killer Sn

Anacondas are members of the boa constrictor family of snakes. That m

they kill their prey by coiling their large, powerful bodies around their vic
squeezing until their prey suffocates or is crushed to death and dies fro
bleeding. Then the snake unhinges its jaw and swallows the victim who
Anacondas are much more likely to eat aquatic creatures, such as fish.
they have been known to eat: caimans (a relative of the alligator), othe
deer, and even jaguars. Anacondas are rather slow-moving snakes, so
rely on stealth and the element of surprise to catch their unsuspecting p

Read about the world's Deadliest Creature | Most Ferocious Creature |

Creature
Hardworking Herpetologist
Dr. Jesus Rivas makes a living wrestling some
of the biggest snakes in the world in the llanos
of Venezuela, where some of these huge
snakes live. The work involves long hours
enduring the heat of the tropics slogging
through the marsh weeds (riddled with
leeches) in bare feet "feeling" for the
unmistakable shape and texture of an
anaconda with the sensitive skin of his feet
and toes. Using primitive, but effective tools
like cotton socks and plastic electricians' tape,
he captures and restrains them to gather blood
and tissue samples so we can all understand
more about them.
Dr. Rivas has always been fascinated by
snakes and other wildlife, ever since he was a
boy growing up in Venezuela. While other
boys were playing superhero he was
Dr. Rivas carrying a female anaconda he
captivated by the beautiful and exotic
captured for studying in the field. All of
creatures that lived in the wild near his
the snakes captured and measured were
childhood home, even keeping a 'nature diary'
later released back into the wild.
with drawings of the creatures he admired. As
a youngster he had been repeatedly warned by his parents not to touch snakes and other
wild creatures because many of them in that part of the world are dangerous, even
poisonous. He didn't really get an opportunity to get up close and personal with snakes
until he was a teenager and eagerly
volunteered his time at a local zoo.

Part of his responsibilities at the zoo were to clean the animals'pens and cages as well as
feed them, which is where he got his first opportunity to observe large anacondas killing
and devouring their prey. This early exposure to the captive reptiles inspired him to want
to learn more about the way these creatures lived in the wild. When he later entered
college at the Universidad Central de Venezuela he chose to study biology.
Dr. Rivas got his first real opportunity to do field research on the giant green anaconda
when a project 'fell into his lap'. Because of the creative and pioneering work that he had
done studying green iguanas in the field he was the first person to come to mind when the
Wildlife Conservation Society began to round up some people to conduct a field study of
anacondas.
His research would be the first of its kind ever performed on the green anaconda, as no
one had carried out any field studies of this species before. Very little was known about
the elusive green anaconda and the Wildlife Conservation Society, together with the
Convention for the International Trade of endangered Species (CITES), and Profauna
(the Venezuelan Fish and Wildlife Service), funded a project to study this species to
understand more about it and try to develop a management plan.
Dr. Rivas and his wife and research partner Renee
carrying a tired snake in to collect data.
During his years of field research on the anaconda, Dr. Rivas and his research team
developed practical and pioneering ways to capture, subdue and measure some of the
biggest snakes in the world without endangering themselves or harming the snakes.
Dr. Rivas has since spent 11 years on the llanos capturing and studying anacondas in the
wild to understand more about them. Here some of the cool things he did learn from his
research so far:
• Anacondas have the largest sexual size dimorphism (difference in
size between the males and the females) of any vertebrate species
(males are 1/5th the size of females!)
• when anacondas mate a large number of much smaller males will
wrap themselves around one large female, forming a "breeding
ball", where the males compete in very close quarters for the
opportunity to mate
• anacondas also present a surprising ontogenetic change in
biomass from birth to adulthood, with a 500-fold increase it is
much higher than the increase found in any other species of
snake
• In his years of field research on the green anaconda, Dr. Rivas
has captured and 'processed' over 900 anacondas!

What's it Like to Handle a Huge

Green Anaconda?
According to Dr. Rivas, "It takes an average of about 15-20 minutes of fighting with a
snake before it tires to the point of exhaustion. Then it becomes easier to handle and more
compliant." Because of the large difference in size between males and females, all of the
really large snakes he has captured are females (the "big girls" he calls them). Many of
the large snakes he has captured weigh between 80 and 100 lbs. (36-45kgs). Can you
imagine trying to wrestle with 100lbs/45kgs of writhing snake? And then multiply that
over 900 times!
There's still a lot that is not known about them that can only be learned from long-term
studies conducted by continually tracking and observing them in their native habitat. Dr.
Rivas is currently looking to fund continuing research of these fascinating and enigmatic
creatures by offering eco-tours of Venezuela and an "Adopt-a-snake" program. You can
read about his research, see lots of great photos of anacondas, and support his research
by visiting his website at: anacondas.org. Check it out!!

LITUYA BAY TSUNAMI


Location: Lituya Bay, on the
southern coast of Alaska, just
north of Glacier Bay.
Facts: On July 9, 1958 a HUGE
earthquake (8.3 magnitude)
triggered a HUGE landslide at
the head of Lituya Bay. The
first (and biggest) wave was an
incredible 1,720ft./516m high!
The Scientists Who Study this
Cool Stuff?
Seisomologists, Geologists,
Geophysicists.
Links:
The Tsunami Page
NOAA Center for Tsunami
Research
USGS Tsunami Research
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
World Record Tsu
Whoa! You're thinking... wha
tsunami and I don't see a hu
the picture, anywhere. Well,
actually a Japanese word) is
scientists use to describe an
wave (or series of waves) tha
when an enormous amount o
released into the waters of th
creating a ripple effect, like w
something in the bathtub or throw a rock into a lake. Only the "ripples"
1) an earthquake (movement of the sea floor)
2) a volcanic eruption (lava and rock going "kersploosh" into the sea)
3) a huge landslide, as was the case in Lituya Bay
The incredibly massive size of the
material 'plopping' into the ocean (or
the shifting of the sea floor) creates MAJOR ripples that are so big they
waves traveling at speeds of up to 200 mph/320kph over really long dis
open sea. But, when the waves reach the beach they are incredibly hig
way inland causing major damage and sometimes loss of life.
SO, you're asking, why no wave in the picture? Well, close up shots of
actually happening are pretty rare and hard to get, as you can imagine.
stand on the shore with a camera to take a picture of a ten-story high w
right at you? Most people turn and run for the hills because their lives a
danger.
Enormous Earthquake
What happened at Lituya was movement along the fault that runs from
the above picture. If you pretend you're actually standing on the ridgeto
over the Bay (like the view in the above picture) the fault would be in th
behind you. The "movement in the fault", of course, is called an earthqu
magnitude of the quake was about 8.3, although some
This photo shows the d
 sources say it was a 7.9, on the Richter Scale (a scale headland; every living
for measuring the magnitude, or amount of energy completely wiped off w
wave struck.
released, from an earthquake). Pretty awesome
shaker. Well, shaker it was...it "shook" loose an estimated 40 million cu
dirt and glacier from a mountainside at the head of the Bay, about whe
standing in the above picture. When the stuff went "kersploosh" into the
created a massive wave that washed 1,720 ft/524m high over the head
right side of the above picture. The tsunami inundated approximately 5
of land along the shores of Lityua Bay, sending water as far as 3,600 fe
clearing millions of trees.You can see the damage to the trees that wer
the headland when the wave washed over the top of it - there were no
left...wiped 'em clean off. The picture above gives you a closer view of
to the headland that the tidal waves caused.

Human Witnesses

There were three fishing boats anchored at the mouth of Lituya Bay on
awesome waves

happen
the ma
know it
There w
witness
catastr
Unfortu
the boa
Photos courtesy of Steinbrugge to shor
Collection, huge w
Earthquake Engineering
Research Center, overtoo
UC Berkeley. two pe
board.
the oth
"rode"
waves
washed
source
landslid
U.S.G.S. Aerial photo of Lituya Bay taken after July 9, 1958 event. Note the extent of resona
the non-forested areas of land lining the shore of the bay, which marks the
approximate reach of the tsunami's runup. the bay
sloshin
basin. The boaters watched in horror as the first enormous wave engul
fishing boat and wiped everything in its path off the land. If there had be
city on the shores of the bay everyone in it would have been killed. For
because it was an unpopulated area, the loss of life was minimal (altho
family of the victims hardly think that it was good fortune).
 How Do They Know?

To measure the height of the biggest wave, all scientists had to do was
high water mark - that's the line where the water reached its highest po
nearby land. It's real easy to find you just look for the uppermost edge o
damaged area (see photo at left).

Then, they measured the elevation of the highest point on the high wat
a measurement of 1,720 ft/524 high - the biggest wave ever measured

Other Big Waves

There are waves out on the ocean all the time, which
are created by the friction, or the dragging motion, of
the wind over the vast surface of the sea. When big
storms develop out at sea creating fast winds it causes The yellow mark illustr
really big waves, called storm waves. Ships out at sea height the wave reache
the headland.
during these really big storms have experienced some
pretty big waves, some as much as 100 ft/31m high, but that's about as
waves get out on the open sea. Nothing like the "big one" at Lituya Bay

Here's something to think about...There happened to be people fishing

day that the landslide and resulting tidal wave occurred. That part of Al
populated, but people come to that area for many reasons. There are p
earth that are so inhospitable (really bad) that few people ever visit. Fo
Arctic, or the Antarctic, in winter are some pretty nasty, cold places. No
they not fun places to visit, but they're virtually inaccessible to humans
totally possible that in early spring, when the ice starts to melt, and glac
into the ocean (break off HUGE chunks) that really big waves occur. Po
bigger than the massive one at Lituya Bay! The wave may wash up ove
covered land, but the evidence melts away so that no human ever know
happened.

Geologic h
We say that the tsunami at Lituya Bay was the
Great
biggest wave ever, but that's just the ones humans
have witnessed and have been able to record. There
have probably been even BIGGER waves that have happened in the p
human witnesses didn't even exist. And you never know, there may eve
wave to happen yet!
 Blue Whales are True Giants

Imagine if you were sailing the ocean

for the first time, venturing into a
place you'd never seen before, and
you look over the side of your boat
into the water and see the creature in
the photo at left. Imagine that you
know almost nothing about what lives
in the sea, or what to expect from any
creatures you might see. This strange
creature swimming near the surface
is longer than the ship you are sailing
See more beautiful photos of blue whales
on. You might be a little scared,
here. especially having never seen it before
and not knowing what it is capable of.
You might even be worrying about whether this creature eats humans. The sheer
size of it makes you wonder if it can capsize your ship in pursuit of a meal. But
you have nothing to fear for this enormous animal is merely a whale.

For many, many years ancient

sailors had rare encounters with these with these gigantic ocean mammals and
were terrified by their overwhelming size and powerful tails. You can understand
a little of the fear and trepidation they might have felt upon seeing these huge,
mysterious creatures for the first time. Today we know them to be virtually
harmless to humans and that they have quite a bit in common with us – they, too
are warm-blooded mammals that must breathe air. They are highly social
animals with complex languages and intelligence. Most importantly, they are not
monsters at all, but gentle giants we’ve come to respect, admire and protect.

Gentle Giants

In scary movies the gigantic creature that swims in the ocean, or the huge beast
that roams the streets, are evil monsters bent on harm and destruction. But in
nature (in real life), the very largest of the large creatures have been virtually
harmless to humans. In fact, magnificent creatures such as the great blue whale
have suffered most at the hands of humans bent on destruction. Blue whales, as
well as many other whale species, have been hunted to the brink of extinction by
people from all over the world for centuries. It's only recently, in this century, that
we as a species have begun to appreciate the value of all living creatures. We
have come to feel that wiping any species of animal off the face of the earth
 forever is an evil thing for humans to do. Blue whales
have been put on the United States' endangered
species list. Whalers in the 19th and 20th centuries
hunted this giant nearly to extinction, killing as many
as 29,000 in 1931, probably the peak year.

Big in Every Way

Blue whales diet consists mainly of krill, a tiny shrimp that lives in tremendously
large schools in almost every ocean of the world. Krill is probably one of the most
plentiful food species (outside of insects) anywhere on earth. It's gotta be to keep
up with the blue whales' big appetite. A big blue can eat over a thousand krill at
one time swallowing them with a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant!
Blue whales eat the krill using a special type of filter on their mouths called a
baleen. By gulping enormous amounts of sea water containing the live krill the
blue whale closes its mouth and flushes the sea water back out through the filter
leaving the krill behind for it to swallow. Small fish and plankton are also favorite
food items of the whale. It takes about 8,000 lbs/3600kg of fresh seafood a day
to keep the blue whale well fed.

Probably the most spectacular thing about blue whales that's bigger than big is
the sounds they make. If you have speakers on your computer you should hear a
recording of "blue whale speech" playing in the background. Scientists have
measured the low-frequency (deep rumbling) sounds they make when they
communicate with each other by using a decibel meter. Some of their
vocalizations have been recorded as loud as 188 decibels and can be heard as
far as 530 mi/848km away. To give you an idea of just how loud 188 decibels is a
commercial jet taking off makes a sound of 120 decibels. That makes whales, by
far, the loudest living thing
anywhere on earth!

Why is the Blue Whale So Big?

Scientist don't really know for sure, but they are sure of one thing - as big as the
ancient dinosaurs were they were NEVER as big as the blue whale is. The blue
whale is the largest creature to have ever lived on earth! One of the most
important reasons that whales have become so large is they have more SPACE -
more room to roam. Remember: over 70% of the earth is covered in ocean
water.

Another nice thing about living in the oceans, besides all the real estate, is the
weightlessness effect of water. If you like to swim or SCUBA dive you know how
it feels to be in the water - almost like floating in
space. (In fact, NASA sometimes trains their Animal Kingdom
astronauts inside huge tanks of water to get familiar Biggest Fish
with working in a zero-gravity environment.) It's the Biggest Freshwater Fish
Biggest Ocean Carnivore
weightlessness of the ocean environment that allows
Fastest in the Sea
a whale to maintain such huge proportions. Instead Giant Jellyfish
of relying on a skeleton to support the weight of its Deadliest Creature
massive bulk the buoyancy of the surrounding ocean World Records
water supports the weight of the whale's body
tissues. If a blue whale were to be removed from the ocean it would smother
under its own weight - a result of the effects of gravity.

A Really "Cool" Place to Be a Scientist

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You want to talk about world records, Antarctica is the land of extremes. It is the
coldest, windiest, and highest continent anywhere on earth. With an average
elevation about 7,544ft/2,300 meters above sea level it is the highest continent.
Even though it is covered in ice it receives some of the least amount of rainfall,
getting just slightly more rainfall than the Sahara Desert, making it the largest
desert on earth. Most people have the misconception that a desert is a hot, dry,
sandy, lifeless place, but the true definition of a desert is any geographical
location that receives very, very little rainfall. Even though there's ice on the
ground in Antarctica, that ice has been there for a very long time.

Antarctica is the only continent that has never had an indigenous population of
humans because it has always been such an extreme environment. Just the boat
ride getting to the continent is over the most treacherous seas anywhere in the
world. The inaccessibility of the place and the lack of reliable food and means for
constructing shelter has kept humans away for thousands of years. But the new
technologies developed over the last 200 years made it possible for people to
reach these icy shores to explore and study the Antarctic for the first time in
human history.

Since there are no people who claim Antarctica as their homeland, exploration of
the continent has been shared by all nations of the world. Scientists from all over
the world - Russia, Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New
Zealand, South America, and many others - come to this place in an
internationally cooperative agreement to study the truly unique qualities of
Antarctica. Many scientific stations have been constructed on Antarctica to
provide shelter and supplies for scientists doing field work there.

Meet a scientist who's been to Antarctica - even went diving under the ice!

Some scientists actually live on Antarctica for part of the year to conduct their
research. Very few scientists stay there more than six months at a time. The sun
rises and sets only once a year at the South Pole, which means there are six
months of daylight, followed by six months of darkness. During the winter when
there is no sun, the Antarctic becomes an even more hostile place to be - colder
than cold, BONE-CHILLING cold, and no daylight. Can you imagine living in
darkness 24 hours a day? That would almost be like
living out in space! Hey.....
About Planet Earth
Earth Science
World Records
Giant Arctic Jellyfish
The World's Biggest Laboratory Hottest Place on Earth
Driest Place
At first, the scientific value of studying the Antarctic Wettest Place
was just for the sake of understanding this strange Extreme Weather
place. Recently, scientists have theorized that the
conditions in the Antarctic are similar to those on Mars. Because of the
similarities exploration of the Antarctic has taken on a new meaning for the
search for signs of life in the most extreme environments. Antarctica is not only
fascinating itself, but serves as an excellent laboratory for studying the effects of
space travel, developing new technologies for exploring other planets and finding
extraterrestrial (yeah, alien) life.

Many, many fascinating things have been discovered in the Antarctic that have
challenged some of our most basic ideas about what life on earth means. Some
really cool factoids:

Deepest Earth Depression: The lowest point on earth is located in the basin of
the Bentley Subglacial Trench. At -2,555 meters (8,325 feet) below sea level it is
the world's lowest elevation not under seawater. It is not accessible because it is
buried under the thickest ice yet discovered.

90% of the ice on earth is located in Antarctica. There is so much ice there
you could carve up a block of ice the size of the Great Giza pyramid for every
human being on the planet! 98% of Antarctica is covered in ice.

Marine Life: Some species of fish that live in the waters around Antarctica are
specially adapted to life in near-freezing waters. Most living creatures on this
planet have hemoglobin in their blood, which gives it that red color we all know so
well. These particular species of fish, however, have extremely low levels of
hemoglobin in their blood. So low that their blood isn't even red! They also have
natural antifreeze in their bodies to protect them from freezing to death. (Even if
you're a fish and the water in all the cells of your body freezes and turns to ice
crystals, you die. 'Nuff said). If you were to catch one of these fish and cut it open
the blood, gills and all the organs would be WHITE.

Weather: Yes, the Antarctic has the coldest temperatures on the earth, but that
shouldn't surprise you. (Coldest reported temperature ever was -89.4°C/-129°F.)
What most people don't know is that the South Pole has the clearest, calmest
weather anywhere on earth. Most of the wickedly high winds that everyone
associates with the cold and the ice of the Antarctic are around the edges of the
continent at the shores. These winds are so fast and so fierce they are world-
famous and they have a special name, too - katabatic winds - and they can blow
with hurricane force up to 304kmh/190 mph!

Believe it or not with all the ice in the Antarctic, there is very little actual snowfall
or precipitation. It does snow on the ice during the austral winter, but measured
on an annual basis the Antarctic is as dry as the Sahara Desert.
Antarctic Ice - The Ultimate
Cool

Many scientists study

Antarctic ice because it is
more than just ice. It has
accumulated over time, layer
upon layer, building up over
the millennia to create a type
of sedimentary rock. Yes,
rock. Ice crystals can be
considered a type of mineral,
and glacial ice is composed
of crystals of the "mineral"
water. Just like sedimentary
rock is created over time by
the repeated layering of
particles of clay or sand,
glacial ice builds up over
millions of years by the build
up of snow that never melts.

Scientists drill down deep into

Buy this beautiful Emperor Penguin print at AllPosters.com
the ice with a drill that works
kind of like a cookie cutter, only it cuts out some really deep cookies of ice.
These core samples contain many layers of ice that represent what the earth's
atmosphere was like at the time each layer of ice was formed. By studying the
layers of ice in the core samples scientists can learn about how the earth's
atmosphere has changed over geologic time.

In the winter time the ocean around Antarctica freezes for thousands of miles in
all directions. This vast expanse of ice surrounding the already immense
Antarctic ice sheet covers over eleven million square kilometers. The annual
freezing of the ocean around Antarctica generates deep ocean currents
worldwide. Differences in ocean temperature are what cause weather all over the
globe. Some scientists fear that if the global climate gets too warm or too cold it
could affect the formation of Antarctic ice, changing the climate as we know it all
over the world.

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Read about the Deepest Place in the Ocean
See our Creature Gallery for more
fascinating world records.
(photo courtesy of Paul Yancey,
Biology Dept., Whitman College, Walla Walla
Washington)
Here's an up close and personal view of the
wicked-looking Viper fish (Chauliodus
macouni). Check out the teeth and the bug
eyes on this guy! Click on the photo to see a
much larger picture...
Like this page? Tell a friend!
Your friend's e-mail:
These are the creepy cr
of the deep you've been
Starting with the first r
- the Mesopelagic...
Life in the Deep
Many species of deep ocean fish have special adaptations
high pressure, low light conditions. Viper fish (Mesopela
meters - about a mile down) are some of the most wicked
up from the depths. Some of them are black as night all o
(called photophores) in strategic places on their bodies, in
dorsal fin that serves as a lure for the fish it preys upon.
many other deep ocean fish species) don't have any pigm
they're "see through". They also have enlarged eyes, pre
as much light as possible where there is little or no light a
create lights by using a chemical process called biolumine
ocean fish, such as the the gulper eel have a hinged skull,
 upward to swallow large prey. They also have large stom
stretch to accommodate a fish much larger than itself. Th
particularly well-known for its impossibly large mouth -
mouth around (and swallow!) creatures much bigger tha
down here must adapt to a very low food supply, eating o
sink down from above, or sometimes eating each other.
Go to the next page to see more creeps from the deep...

A Fangtooth - scientists still aren't exactly sure

why so many bony fishes of the deep have such
enlarged, daggerlike teeth. See many more
photos of creeps from the deep on
ExploretheAbyss.com!

Benthopelagic Species

Rattail or grenadier fish. These fish were a common

sight around the remains of the Titanic when Bob
Ballard's expedition filmed the wreckage using ROV These fish are found at the
technology. (Photo courtesy of Paul Yancey, benthopelagic level, in the bathyal
Biology Dept., Whitman College, Walla Walla zones. Scientists have discovered
Washington) that this type of fish has high levels
of a chemical called TMAO in its
body. All ocean creatures have this chemical in their systems. Its presence helps to
maintain hydration levels of the body tissues while living in all that salt water. Otherwise,
water would move from areas of low salinity (the fish's body) to areas of high salinity
(the surrounding ocean water). Without this chemical fish would be dehydrated by the
surrounding ocean water. TMAO, and its breakdown product TMA, are the chemicals
that make marine animals smell fishy.

This guy with the big, creepy mouth

is a giant grenadier fish. This species is usually found living just above the bottom of the
ocean. They swim slowly over the sea bed searching for live prey, as well as carcasses to
eat. Having really high levels of the smelly chemical compound TMAO must make the
rattail not only ugly, but really stinky, too!
Go to the NEXT PAGE to see more creeps from the deep...
Read about the Deepest Place in the Ocean
See our Creature Gallery for more fascinating world records.

Life on the Sea Floor

These creatures live on or just underneath the
surface of the very bottom of the ocean, on the
abyssal plain. Called "sea pigs", they are a type of
sea cucumber, which is a member of the same
phylum as starfish and sea urchins (Echinoderms).
They look and act kind of like slugs do up here on
land. They feed on the mud of the sea floor,
benefiting from the organic materials that settle to
Sea Pig. (Photo courtesy of Paul the ocean bottom. Sea cucumbers, starfish and sea
Yancey, Biology Dept., urchins can be found in all depths of the ocean.
Whitman College, Walla Walla For reasons scientists don't yet understand,
Washington) members of the phylum Echinodermata (like the
sea pigs) are extremely successful down in the
ocean depths. They are the most plentiful species of sea creature down there. The sea
floor must be "hog heaven" for these sea pigs! This guy does look kinda like a pig,
doesn't he?

Gigantism
 A characteristic of many deep ocean
creatures which baffles scientists is
the incidence of gigantism - ocean
creatures that exist in shallower
waters take on gigantic proportions
when they take up residence down in
deep ocean water.

Giant Tube Worms: On the bottom of

the ocean around deep-sea
hydrothermal vents, there is a
profusion of life that thrives on the
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas released
from the vents. Some of the most
Giant tubeworms that live around hydrothermal impressive of the creatures that live
vents on the sea floor. These creatures are about here are the giant tube worms, which
the size of your hand in shallower waters, but in can grow up to eight feet long. These
the ocean's deep they have been found as big as tube worms grow in large clusters
eight feet long! around the vents and live inside hard,
shell-like protective tubes that attach
to the rocks. They live in a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria that may hold clues as
to how life on earth began billions of years ago. These worms lack mouths, anuses,
intestines and stomachs, and scientists were at a loss to explain how these tube worms
were getting nutrients to survive and grow. It turns out their insides are lined with
bacteria that oxidize the H2S, turning it into usable nutrients for the worms. The bacteria,
in turn, benefit from the relationship because the worms deliver blood containing
hemoglobin which helps the bacteria
to break down the sulfides.
Up until the discovery of these incredible bacteria (able to withstand the hottest
temperatures of any other living thing on earth), scientists didn't believe it was possible
for anything to survive in the extreme environment around deep ocean vents (extreme
pressure, high temperature, no sunlight). The discovery of the deep-sea thermal vents and
the communities of life they support has completely changed the way we define life,
perhaps going a long way to explain how life on earth first began.

The Colossal Squid

BREAKING NEWS - February, 2007. Scientists have known about the existence of a
species of squid that is reported to be significantly larger than the giant squid, but had not
seen or collected a complete specimen of the Colossal squid, named Mesonychoteuthis
hamiltoni. This species of squid was first identified in 1925 after two arms were
recovered from a sperm whale's stomach. In 2003 a virtually intact specimen of this
never-before-seen squid had been brought up in Antarctic waters from an estimated depth
of 2,000 to 2,200 meters. And recently, in February of 2007 a live colossal squid was
brought to the surface in Antarctic waters by a New Zealand fishing boat. This time video
was taken and the squid was captured for scientific study. This enormous squid, which
was determined to be a male of the species, was 10 meters (32.8 feet), and weighed 450
kilograms (992 pounds). , making it the largest squid (the largest invertebrate) ever
captured. What was even more astonishing is that, from what scientists know about squid
species in general, there is great sexual dimorphism in squids, with females being
significantly larger than the males. If that holds true for the Colossal squid, this male
specimen that was captured could very well be dwarfed by a much larger female of the
species. See the video...

Colossal squid are known to inhabit the abyssal depths of the ocean primarily in the
Southern Ocean that circumnavigates Antarctica. Evidence of their existence has been
obtained from the stomachs of the largest predatory carnivore in the sea - the mighty
sperm whale. Many Sperm whales carry scars on their backs believed to be caused by
the hooks of Colossal Squid. One of the significant morphological differences between
the giant squid and the colossal squid is the existence of swiveling hooks on each of the
sucker discs in the clubs at the ends of the colossal squids' feeding tentacles. The giant
squid merely have a circular, serrated row of 'teeth' inside each of their sucker discs.
Either way, both of these species of squid make for formidable and terrifying predators of
the deep.
Colossal Squid are a major prey item for Antarctic sperm whales feeding in the Southern
Ocean; 14% of the squid beaks found in the stomachs of these sperm whales are those of
the Colossal Squid, which indicates that Colossal Squid make up 77% of the prey
consumed by these whales.
Not only are the Colossal squid the largest invertebrates in the world, they have the
largest eyes of any living on earth - even bigger than the blue whale. Much of the
evidence of these squids that has been gathered from the stomachs of sperm whales have
been the enormous beaks of the colossal squid.
Here is an excellent page on the colossal squid, including close-up photos showing the
wicked, lethal swiveling hooks of the colossal squid Giant Squid and Colossal Squid
Fact Sheet
Giant Squid
Architeuthis dux

Close View of a Reddish Colored Giant Or

Humboldt Squid at Night
Buy this Photographic Print
Another species of deep ocean creature that has been
world famous for centuries has just recently come
into the spotlight. Ancient stories from men who

traveled the seas exploring the world

told of giant monsters of the deep
that rivaled the size of the ship. These stories were ridiculed as nonsense recently as
humans began to explore the ocean depths because no such creature had ever been
spotted.
However, scientists have slowly been piecing together evidence of the elusive giants and
recently began finding some very large specimens washed up on shore. The stomach
contents of sperm whales have revealed body parts of these huge creatures and sucker
marks on some whales' skin stand as evidence of goliath battles in the deep between the
whale and the giant squid. The largest squid found so far had an overall length of about
32 feet, including the two long feeding tentacles. There may be other squids out there
even larger. Maybe YOU could be a
Teuthologist (a scientist who studies
squids) and be the first to discover a live specimen of Architeuthis dux!
Read about the Deepest Place in the Ocean
See the World Record Index to see all the records featured on Extreme Science.
In October of 2001 the remains of an enormous octopus were netted by the research ship
of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in the
waters off New Zealand.
At first, Marine biologist Dr. Steve O'Shea dismissed the specimen as another carcass of
a giant squid and it was put into storage in a freezer. But later on, when he cleaned out his
freezer and began to carefully examine the specimen he realized that it was not a giant
squid, but a huge specimen of octopus, a species not native to the South Pacific. Dr.
O'Shea has preliminarily identified the species as belonging to Haliphron atlanticus, but
qualifies that as only an educated guess. Further studies will be necessary to confirm the
species of giant. He conservatively estimated the full size of the living specimen to be
roughly 13 ft/4 meters long, or up to 26 ft/8m across.

CHALLENGER DEEP
 Challenger Deep got its name
Challenger II, which pinpointed
Islands in 1951. Then in 1960,
Location: Off the Marianas submersible - a mini-submari
Islands in the South Pacific down into the depths of the Ma
Ocean. Also called the Marianas
Trench. they would go (read the origina
bottom at 35,838 ft/10,923m. T
Facts: 35,838 ft. or 10,923 m parked on the bottom in the ba
straight down. It takes almost
5 hours to freefall all the way seven miles/11km of water ove
to the very bottom.
See a 3-D virtual 'flyover tour' of the deepest place in the
ocean! (You must have the Quicktime plug-in to view this)

The Scientists Who Study this

If you cut Mount Everest off at sea level and put it on the
Cool Stuff? ocean bottom in the Challenger Deep, there would still be
Biologists. Marine Biologists,
Zoologists, Geologists,
over a mile of water over the top of it!
Geoscientists.
Hydrostatic Pressure
Links:
Woodshole Oceanographic
Institute When you get into the ocean (or any body of water) and you start divin
Alvin Homepage
Marinebio.com
deeper you dive the more water is over the top of you. The more gallon
and the surface of the ocean, the greater the pressure is on your body
over the top of you. This pressure is called hydrostatic pressure.

You can really get a sense of hydrostatic pressure when you go into a
way to the bottom of the deep end. You'll feel the hydrostatic pressure
they're being squeezed or pushed in. Well, you can imagine how incred
Challenger Deep with almost seven miles of water overhead - it's 16,00

Plate Tectonics and the Subduction Zone

 made up of huge pla
molten rock of the ea
around on the mantl
past each other, bum
even
crash. The oceanic crust is much heavier than the
continental crust so when the plates crash into each other, the oceanic
the molten mantle, while the lighter, continental plate rides up over the
plates together are really intense so the underlying oceanic plate (the s
where it drags the edge of the continental crust down as it descends un
left).

This is what's happening on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean off the Ma
part of the ocean is in the bottom of the trench created by the subduct

So, How Do They Know?

In 1984 the Japanese sent a highly specialized survey vessel out to the
some data using a piece of equipment called a narrow, multi-beam ech

What an echo sounder does is send high frequency sound waves (outs
through the water down to the ocean bottom. Sound waves will travel th
they travel through the air, and bounce off solid objects, such as the oc
measures precisely how long it takes for the sound waves to be returne
the depth based on the rate of return. These soundings are plotted on a
"echo map" of the ocean bottom.

The deepest measurement of the Challenger Deep currently available w

was found to be 35,838 feet.

See the different ways scientists study the ocean

Find out what creatures live in the ocean depths, visit the Deep Ocean Creatures pag
Learn about life zones of the ocean.
Meet a scientist who studies the ocean's deep, right here at Extreme Science.
See the World Record Index to see all the records featured on Extreme Science.
 Sailfish
Istiophorus platypterus
Mysterious

Sailfish are a v
Location: Sailfish live in both species of fish
the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
in warm waters.
heard of them,
seen one moun
Facts: The sailfish is related to popularity amo
other "billed" fish, such as
Marlin and Swordfish, which
They are world
are all very fast. But the sailfish
has them all beat by clocking in
at speeds up to 68mph.

www.robinhughes.net
The Scientists Who Study this challenge they provide even the most experienced anglers. In fact, ther
Cool Stuff?
Marine Biologists, knows about this species of fish, except what observations fisherman h
Ichthyologists. encounters with it. Over fishing of this magnificent fish has led to a noti
numbers, so that many people who fish for them are putting them back
them (called "catch and release"). Even as well known as they are, sail
species to study because they are highly migratory and are typically fou
of miles from shore. These two factors make it very difficult for scientist
collect data on specimens. Cooperation from sport fisherman who prize
essential for scientists to learn more about the sailfishes' range and be

What little we do know about the sailfish is

limited to its range, habitat, growth, and diet.

Range and Habitat: Sailfish are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific o
scientific names assigned to the fish in either ocean (Pacific - Istiophor
Istiophorus platypterus). However, scientists now believe that these fish
same species, the only difference being the ocean in which they live an
Pacific ocean sailfish tend to grow significantly larger (up to 10 feet). Ba
and water temperature, it has been determined that sailfish prefer to liv
(approximately 79 degrees F), although they have been caught as far n
Cape Cod.

A sailfish leaping from the ocean wi

retracted against its body. Sailfish u
 are excited or swimming on the sur

Growth: Some studies have been done to examine the growth rate of t
pretty amazing findings. After a female sailfish lays her eggs they hatch
are also a fast growing species, where a hatchling can grow up to six fe
time. How big do they get? The average length is 6 to 8 feet, but the wo
caught in 1994 weighed 141 pounds and was over ten feet long.

Diet: Flying fish and squid, preferring tunas, mackerels, jacks and othe
the ocean’s surface. Divers have reported seeing several sailfish work
their prey, using their high fins to create a wall that keeps the smaller fi

Why Study this Fish?

When you first look at a picture of this fish there are lots of questions th
"Why the tall fin? Tell us all about that big fin!"; "Why the long beak?", "
so fast and why is it so fast?". If scientists can study this fish more clos
questions can be answered. Most importantly, we study this fish, and a
learn more about their contribution to their ecosystem (the ocean enviro
affect all other creatures, including humans. Since we put significant pr
particular species of fish by fishing for them for sport and for food, we n
as we can about them to protect their numbers. Once we have a better
how sailfish live, how often they breed, how quickly they grow, the best
in the ocean, what they need to eat to stay healthy and robust, we can
the numbers of sailfish we take from the oceans isn't more than the spe
without a decline in population.

Buy this Sailfish poster at AllPosters.com

 Traw

Scientists learn about deep ocean cre

The easiest (and least dangerous to th
specimens from the ocean using a tec
of old-fashioned fishing where a large
lowered into the water and dragged al
takes hours to lower the net to the bot
This is a midwater trawl, or net, that bring it back up, depending on the dep
is dragged behind the research
vessel to collect specimens fromThe specimens that were gathered in
mesopelagic zones in the sea. immediately upon reaching the surface
measured, dissected, and preserved b
creatures that live in the deep ocean are specially adapted to living und
pressure of the ocean depths. As they are raised to the surface on the
the creatures experience during ascent usually kills them. Some of the
completely disintegrate.

See the Creatu

The photo at left is an example

Photo courtesy of Paul Yancey,
Biology Dept., Whitman College, Walla
Walla Washington
depressurization during ascent
brought up to the surface. Whe
fisherman at great depths (>10
the external pressure around th
bubbles to form inside the fish
bladders expand. These bubble
throughout the fish resulting in
inflation, pop-eye, and internal
the fish does not survive these
reasons that fish (vertebrates)
cannot be brought to the surfac
(like the Monterey Bay Aquariu

Other methods scientists use to study the ocean;