![[Left] Gold coral (Kulamanamana sp.) with squat lobsters in the Bahamas, [right] crinoids on a glass sponge, Roatan, Honduras.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/82f513_3d4bd0c604754126b82455f363411462~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1908,h_330,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/82f513_3d4bd0c604754126b82455f363411462~mv2.jpg)
Messing with the Deep
A proposed new series created and hosted by
Charles G. Messing, Ph.D.
Synopsis
• Host Charles Messing uses manned submersibles to explore the vast unknown of the deep sea to depths as great as 3,280 feet (1,000 meters).
• A proposed pilot episode will explore the mysteries of bizarre features at the far end of the Bahamas, where seafloor maps conflict, where a mammoth undersea landslide took place, and where the ranges of many deep-sea creatures abruptly and mysteriously end.
• In subsequent episodes, your host will travel around the world and invite other deep-sea scientists to explore where no one has gone before, to discover new creatures and habitats, and reveal the secrets of the biggest environment on earth.
Tritonsubs
Destination: Northwest edge of Little Bahama Bank
Decades ago, a map revealed a crowd of deep valleys at depths from 1,000 to 2,000 feet, while GoogleEarth shows an unnaturally regular field of mounds. Is one of them right, or is the real seafloor entirely different here?
Malloy & Hurley (1970)
GoogleEarth
Just north of the Bank, a vast, ancient, undersea landslide carved a mammoth winding valley with cliffs over 200 feet high. The area has never been visited. Is this a dead zone or teeming with strange life?
Tournador et al. (2015)
The northwestern slope of the Bahamas marks the northern limit of many deep-sea animals, including millennia-old gold corals and meadows of sea lilies. The Gulf Stream continues onward, but why these creatures do not remains a mystery.
NOAA
Messing/NSF
NOAA
Messing/NSF
Topics
• Adventure, exploration, discovery, marine life, science, & environmental awareness.
Format
• 45-minute pilot documentary