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"[[nid:8696]]Imagine you\u2019re an alien seeing Planet Earth for the first time. What do you see from your spacecraft? A blue planet with over 70% of its surface covered by ocean. From space it\u2019s obvious how important the ocean is to our planet. But we actually know very little about what lives at the bottom of the deep sea\u2014including corals. Deep-sea corals include Earth\u2019s oldest living animals. Some are more than 4,000-years-old. Since 2003 I\u2019ve been studying and mapping an area in the North Atlantic where Lophelia grow at depths of up to 190 m (623 ft). I\u2019m interested in what sustains the incredibly high diversity among deep-sea corals.\u25CFHow do they form where they do?\u25CFHow are they responding to human impacts?\u25CFAnd how can we manage and conserve them?Incredible DivesTo answer questions like these, I have to get out into the habitats where deep-sea corals live. Over the last 14 years I\u2019ve been lucky enough to make a number of incredible dives to the bottom of the sea. One thing that amazes me is that even though areas where deep-sea corals live have never been seen before, many have been physically damaged. People fishing with bottom trawls have unknowingly destroyed habitats that took thousands of years to grow.Although we\u2019ve only scratched the surface of deep-sea coral diversity, researchers have already discovered valuable new drugs in corals and sponges. If we lose this diversity, future generations won\u2019t be able to appreciate its beauty or benefit from drugs that will be discovered in the years to come."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/exploring-blue-planet-j-murray-roberts>