| Abstract |
Two third of our Planet are covered by oceans more than 3,000m deep (~ 307 millions km2) and the mean depth of the sea is approximately 3,800m. The volume of the deep ocean (aphotic) is about 1,280 Millions of km3 while the volume of terrestrial ecosystems is only 125 Millions of km3. Therefore, the deep-sea ecosystem is by far the largest complex biome on the Earth. However, it suffers from a general disinterest of the public and decision makers due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. Edward Forbes "azoic theory" is still deeply rooted in most people brains and during public conferences, a large part of the audience being still amazed to hear that macroscopic life does exist in the deepest part of the sea floor (11,000m depth). |
1, Fabri Marie-Claire