A field project of the multi-national Census of Marine Life, the Census of the Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life (CeDAMar) was created to document "actual species diversity of abyssal plains as a basis for global change research and for a better understanding of historical causes and actual ecological factors regulating biodiversity." This site provides Deep-Sea researchers with a forum for...

The first Web site is a NOVA Online Adventure from PBS (1). Into the Abyss decribes the "pitch darkness, poison gas, heavy metals, extreme acidity, and enormous pressure" found at hydrothermal vents, and offers a look at bizarre and fascinating creatures found in this environment. The next Web site from Exploring Earth, an online earth sciences text book, contains video clips taken during research...

This week's In the News focuses on discoveries that provide support for the theory that deep sea hydrothermal vents may have been the "factories of life" three and half billion years ago when Earth's atmosphere did not consist of any oxygen. A recent article published in Science (February 5, 1999, 283:831-833) discusses how scientists at Nagaoka University created an environment similar to a...

The Ocean Realm is part of Sea and Sky, an award-winning, nonprofit website created by J.D. Knight, an Orlando-based Web designer, amateur astronomer, and marine aquarium hobbyist. The Ocean Realm offers two features: Reef Life, a presentation of animals who inhabit corral reefs; and Monsters of the Deep, an exploration of animals found in deep zones of the ocean. Reef Life contains gorgeous...