Why Ocean Exploration Matters More than Space

This #WorldOceansWeek, we want to remind people that there's a whole "universe" waiting to be explored—right here in our own oceans.

We often forget that, by the very nature of living on #Earth, we've already won the intergalactic space race (and if space has taught us anything, it's that there's no place like Earth). So much so, that the search for extraterrestrial life is typically referred to as the search for "Earths," which puts the whole pursuit in good context.

For example, #DidYouKnow life on Earth probably came from hot springs on the ocean floor? Let's go back in time: The year is 1977 and everyone on Earth thinks life depends on sunlight. That's when Robert Ballard (the guy who discovered the Titanic—#Legend) flips the universe on its head. Eight-thousand feet below the surface, his expedition stumbles upon a mysterious ecosystem on the seafloor that thrives on volcanic energy.

Hydrothermal vents, as they would come to be known, turned out to be the basis of an entirely new food chain—move over photosynthesis, chemosynthesis is here! Chemosynthesis, or the conversion of chemicals into food (energy) was not only an entirely new source of life, research now suggests that it is where all life on Earth began.

If just 40 years ago humans had no idea life could exist in the absence of sunlight, what else will we discover down there? That's just one reason we #ExploreWhatMatters.

Share your favorite ocean discoveries at #explorewhatmatters.

#WorldOceansDay21 #WorldOceansDay

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