Exploring What Lives at the Deepest Depths of the Sea

In a gorgeously animated essay, Munich design house Kurzgesagt (previously) takes a deep dive into what lives at the bottom of the sea. During the long descent, narrator Steve Taylor explains what nautical species can survive at different levels of the ocean, how light impacts survival and what can be found at the very deepest waters on Earth, the Challenger Deep, which is over 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) below the water’s surface. Only the strongest can survive here.

The water pressure here is 1,086 bar. nTaking a swim here is like having to balance 1,800 elephants on top of you. But even here, life has found a way to thrive. Next to sea cucumbers, white and light pink amphipods wiggle their way through the water. Their size is astounding. While their shallow-water cousins are maybe a few centimeters long, the deep-sea version can reach up to 30 centimeters.

And there are other things floating elegantly through the water. Plastic bags that were found by scientists in 2018. Even the remotest place on Earth is not safe from human influence.

Kurzgesagt has also created a beautiful poster to accompany this video, which is available for purchase through their online shop.

Matching our video about the depths of the ocean we designed an epic Deep Sea Poster! It’s much less work than an aquarium, but just as soothing and pretty.?

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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