Deep Sea Exploration: Uncovering the hadal zone

Our research at Newcastle University is:

• Exploring the deepest marine environments on Earth

• Mapping new habitats and discovering new species at greater depths

• Investigating the genetic connectivity between deep sea species, how they function and behave atextreme pressures

• Discovering evidence of anthropogenic impacts on deep sea life

Impact of plastics and pollutants on marine life

Researchers at Newcastle University were the first todiscover the anthropogenic impacts of plastic and otherpollutants on deep sea life, which was featured in theBBC documentary seriesBlue Planet II. They foundthat plastics and PCBs havebeen ingested by deep seaorganisms occupying thedeepest ecosystems onEarth and in some casesincrease heavy metal concentrations. The findings havesent political shockwaves across the world promptinggovernments to enact legislation to prevent plastics fromentering the planet’s oceans.

What do we offer to deep sea science?

• Newcastle University researchers have collectedsamples from the deepest oceans on Earth and host aconsiderable species archive from the deepest marinehabitats.

• Newcastle is working to make tools for exploring thedeep sea available to everyone in the scientific comm-unity through commercial enterprise.

• Scientific and technical expertise onhadal zone ecosystems and deepsea exploration and mapping.

For more information: go.ncl.ac.uk/sage/marine