Discoveries of the Deep Sea

Question 1

like finding a needle in a haystack

Answer 1

something that is impossible or very difficult to find because the area you have to search is so large.

A thriving ecosystem has been discovered in the last few decades in a region which was previously deemed empty. Sunlight cannot reach the very bottom of the ocean, a place between two and three kilometres down known as the ‘deep abyss’, so it totally dark and extremely cold. And the weight of water creates massive amounts of pressure.

Alex says that finding these small thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack, an idiom meaning almost impossible to find because the area you have to search is so large.

Question 2

thin on the ground

Answer 2

there are very few of something.

Well, the first problem is actually finding them because they cover a very small area so it’s literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but when you do come across them, I mean, the deep ocean is food limited, so life is quite thin on the ground, and then suddenly your camera just stumbles into this area where there is just abundant life all over the sea floor and around these vents.

Because there’s no sunlight on the ocean floor, it’s hard for plants and creatures to survive, so forms of life are thin on the ground – there are only a few of them.

Question 3

abundant

Answer 3

there is more than enough of something.
Abundant # scarce = Thin on the ground.

Well, the first problem is actually finding them because they cover a very small area so it’s literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but when you do come across them, I mean, the deep ocean is food limited, so life is quite thin on the ground, and then suddenly your camera just stumbles into this area where there is just abundant life all over the sea floor and around these vents.

To picture a hydrothermal vent, imagine an underwater volcano. Billowing clouds of what looks like smoke heat the seawater to a temperature of 386 degrees C. This creates a warm environment of all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures, including vent mussels, tube worms and blind ‘yeti crabs’, so called because of their hairy claws, some of which get cooked because the water is so hot.

Question 4

vast

Answer 4

extremely large; huge.

I have absolutely no doubt that there is plenty more to discover down there. It’s really vast, I mean it’s quite hard to get your head around how vast the deep sea is, and it is most of our planet. So… and we’ve barely scratched the surface of exploration of this unique environment, …

Question 5

hard to get your head around

Answer 5

difficult to fully understand or comprehend.

I have absolutely no doubt that there is plenty more to discover down there. It’s really vast, I mean it’s quite hard to get your head around how vast the deep sea is, and it is most of our planet. So… and we’ve barely scratched the surface of exploration of this unique environment, and if you think that vents were only discovered in the 70s, you know, there’s great potential …

That’s because the ocean is vast – extremely big. So vast, in fact, that it’s hard to get your head around it, or difficult to really understand.

Question 6

scratch the surface

Answer 6

find out (or do) a small amount about something, but not enough to fully understand (or deal with) it.

I have absolutely no doubt that there is plenty more to discover down there. It’s really vast, I mean it’s quite hard to get your head around how vast the deep sea is, and it is most of our planet. So… and we’ve barely scratched the surface of exploration of this unique environment, and if you think that vents were only discovered in the 70s, you know, there’s great potential for a lot else to come, I think. We’ve only been exploring this environment for the last 150 years, I mean. Before that we didn’t think there was any life down there at all. So, it’s a very young science is Deep Sea biology. And so, there’s … yeah, there’s a lot more to discover. I have no doubt.

In terms of ocean exploration Kerry thinks we’ve only scratched the surface – found out a little bit about something, but not enough to fully understand it.

Question 7

/\/\

Answer 7

In terms of ocean exploration Kerry thinks we’ve only scratched the surface – found out a little bit about something, but not enough to fully understand it. That’s because the ocean is vast – extremely big. So vast, in fact, that it’s hard to get your head around it, or difficult to really understand.
Well, 71 percent to be precise, but either way it’s hard to get your head around or difficult to fully understand.