Oh, the other cool thing is that these worms, becasue of their sulfer content, have the smell of spent fire crackers - truely odd creatures of the deep.

Wow, that sounds fascinating!

Chemosynthesis, baby! An ecosystem unlike any other within the realm of our knowledge. Creatures who do not get their energy from the sun, but from the earth itself - - subsisting on what to us would be lethal quantities of poisonous chemicals! Two miles deep, in total darkness, an amazing world.

I think you'd need a machine like this to study them...

Hi Alex,

To answer your question and those of others, it is very expensive and requires lots of specialized gear to keep these animals alive. We've worked with engineers to design titanium pressure vessels that can withstand the extremely high pressures that these creatures experience (approaching 4,000 pounds per square inch). To put this in perspective, that's like balancing a Honda Accord or half of a Hummer over a one inch square area on your head. In addition, we have to also add the chemicals normally found in these environments, including hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Some of the animals that live at these vents can tolerate pressure changes and we can transport them back to the lab for study. Others can not and we have to study them out at sea on research vessels.

Innerspaceman, you're right. the process by which these animals and bacteria make a living is called chemosynthesis (they convert chemicals from the geothermal activity of the vents to usable carbon compounds like sugars that can then be used for life). You get an A!

Heheh, I learned all I know about The Seas from Epcot.

Isn't he, like, smart and some junk?
:D

He's absolutely adorable!

I should post his Disneyland picture that his sister gave me for Xmas. It's sooo cute. Ralphie at 6 years old.

I LOVE that pic.