TED-Ed
David Gallo: Deep ocean mysteries and wonders
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In the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans are ecosystems with more diversity than a tropical rainforest. Taking us on a voyage into the ocean -- from the deepest trenches to the remains of Titanic -- marine biologist David Gallo explores the wonder and beauty of marine life.
David Gallo - Oceanographer
A pioneer in ocean exploration, David Gallo is an enthusiastic ambassador between the sea and those of us on dry land. Full bio
A pioneer in ocean exploration, David Gallo is an enthusiastic ambassador between the sea and those of us on dry land. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:14
You know, I had a real rough time
in school with ADD,
in school with ADD,
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and I have a PhD.
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I earned a PhD, but ...
tough to pay attention --
tough to pay attention --
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biology, geology, physics,
chemistry -- really tough for me.
chemistry -- really tough for me.
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Only one thing grabbed my attention,
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and it's that planet called Earth.
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But in this picture here,
you'll see that Earth is mostly water.
you'll see that Earth is mostly water.
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That's the Pacific.
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Seventy percent of Earth
is covered with water.
is covered with water.
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You can say, "Hey,
I know Earth. I live here."
I know Earth. I live here."
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You don't know Earth.
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You don't know this planet,
because most of it's covered with that --
because most of it's covered with that --
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average depth, two miles.
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And when you go outside
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and look up at the Empire State
Building, Chrysler Building,
Building, Chrysler Building,
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the average depth of the ocean
is 15 of those on top of one another.
is 15 of those on top of one another.
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We've explored about five percent
of what's in that water.
of what's in that water.
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"Explored," meaning, for the first time,
go peek and see what's there.
go peek and see what's there.
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So what I want to do today
is show you some things
is show you some things
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about this planet, about the oceans.
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I want to take you from shallow water
down to the deep water,
down to the deep water,
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and hopefully, like me,
you'll see some things
you'll see some things
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that get you hooked
on exploring planet Earth.
on exploring planet Earth.
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You know things like corals;
you've seen plenty of corals,
you've seen plenty of corals,
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those of you who've been
to the beach, snorkeling,
to the beach, snorkeling,
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know corals are an amazing place
to go -- full of life,
to go -- full of life,
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some big animals, small animals,
some nice, some dangerous,
some nice, some dangerous,
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sharks, whales, all that stuff.
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They need to be protected from humanity.
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They're great places.
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But what you probably don't know
is in the very deep part of the ocean,
is in the very deep part of the ocean,
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we have volcanic eruptions.
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Most volcanoes on Earth
are at the bottom of the sea --
are at the bottom of the sea --
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more than 80 percent.
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And we actually have fire,
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fire deep inside the ocean,
going on right now.
going on right now.
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All over the world -- in the Pacific,
the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean.
the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean.
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In this place, the ocean floor,
the rocks actually turn to liquid.
the rocks actually turn to liquid.
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So you actually have waves
on the ocean floor.
on the ocean floor.
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You'd say nothing could live there,
but when we look in detail,
but when we look in detail,
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even there, in the deepest,
darkest places on Earth, we find life,
darkest places on Earth, we find life,
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which tells us that life
really wants to happen.
really wants to happen.
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So, pretty amazing stuff.
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Every time we go to the bottom of the sea,
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we explore with our submarines,
with our robots,
with our robots,
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we see something
that's usually surprising,
that's usually surprising,
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sometimes it's startling
and sometimes revolutionary.
and sometimes revolutionary.
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You see that puddle
of water sitting there.
of water sitting there.
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And all around the water
there's a little cliff,
there's a little cliff,
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there's a little white sandy beach.
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We'll get closer, you'll see
the beach a little bit better,
the beach a little bit better,
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some of the waves
in that water, down there.
in that water, down there.
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The thing that's special about this water
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is that it's at the bottom
of the Gulf of Mexico.
of the Gulf of Mexico.
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So you're sitting inside a submarine,
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looking out the window
at a little pond of water beneath the sea.
at a little pond of water beneath the sea.
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We see ponds, we see
lakes, we see rivers --
lakes, we see rivers --
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in fact, right here is a river
at the bottom of the ocean
at the bottom of the ocean
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going from the lower
left to the upper right.
left to the upper right.
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Water is actually flowing through there.
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This totally blew our minds.
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How can you have this at the bottom?
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You're in the ocean looking at more water.
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And there's animals
that only live in that water.
that only live in that water.
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So, the bottom of the ocean --
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I love this map, because it shows
in the middle of the ocean,
in the middle of the ocean,
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there's a mountain range.
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It's the greatest mountain range
on Earth, called the mid-ocean ridge --
on Earth, called the mid-ocean ridge --
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50,000 miles long,
and we've hardly had a peek at it.
and we've hardly had a peek at it.
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Hardly had a peek at it.
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We find valleys,
many thousands of valleys,
many thousands of valleys,
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larger, wider, deeper
than the Grand Canyon.
than the Grand Canyon.
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We find, as I said, underwater
lakes, rivers, waterfalls.
lakes, rivers, waterfalls.
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The largest waterfall on the planet
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is actually under the ocean,
up near Iceland.
up near Iceland.
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All that stuff is in that five percent
that we've explored.
that we've explored.
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So the deal about the ocean
is that to explore it,
is that to explore it,
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you've got to have technology.
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Not only technology,
but it's not just Dave Gallo
but it's not just Dave Gallo
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or one person exploring,
it's a team of people.
it's a team of people.
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You've got to have the talent, the team.
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You've got to have the technology.
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In this case, it's our ship, Atlantis,
and the submarine, Alvin.
and the submarine, Alvin.
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Inside that submarine --
this is an Alvin launch --
this is an Alvin launch --
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there's three people.
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They're being wheeled out onto deck.
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There's 47 other people,
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the teamwork on that ship,
making sure that these people are okay.
making sure that these people are okay.
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Everybody in that submarine
is thinking one thing right now:
is thinking one thing right now:
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Should I have gone
to the bathroom one more time?
to the bathroom one more time?
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Because you're in there for 10 hours --
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10 hours in that little sphere.
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Three of you together
and nobody is going to be around you.
and nobody is going to be around you.
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You go into the water
and once you hit the water, it's amazing.
and once you hit the water, it's amazing.
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There's a lovely color blue
that penetrates right inside you.
that penetrates right inside you.
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You don't hear the surface ship anymore,
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you hear that pinging of a sonar.
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If you've got an iPhone
you've got sonar on there --
you've got sonar on there --
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it's that same pinging that goes
down to the bottom and comes back up.
down to the bottom and comes back up.
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Divers check out the sub to make
sure the outside is okay,
sure the outside is okay,
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and then they say "Go,"
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and down you go to the bottom
of the ocean and it's an amazing trip.
of the ocean and it's an amazing trip.
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So for two and a half hours,
you sink down to the bottom.
you sink down to the bottom.
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And two hours of it
is totally pitch black.
is totally pitch black.
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We thought that nothing
could live inside that world
could live inside that world
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at the bottom of the ocean.
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And when we look,
we find some amazing things.
we find some amazing things.
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All the way down --
we call it the mid-water --
we call it the mid-water --
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from the top of the ocean
down to the bottom, we find life.
down to the bottom, we find life.
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Whenever we stop and look, we find life.
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I'm going to show you some jellies.
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They're absolutely some
of the coolest creatures on Earth.
of the coolest creatures on Earth.
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Look at that thing,
just flailing his arms around.
just flailing his arms around.
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That's like a little lobster.
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That one is like all these animals
with their mouths hooked together,
with their mouths hooked together,
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the colonial animals.
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Some animals are tiny,
some can be longer than this stage.
some can be longer than this stage.
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Just amazing animals.
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And you can't collect them with a net --
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we have to go with our cameras
and take a look at them.
and take a look at them.
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So every time we go, new species of life.
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The ocean is full of life.
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And yet the deepest part of the ocean --
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when we go to that mountain range,
we find hot springs.
we find hot springs.
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Now we were sure --
because this is poisonous water,
because this is poisonous water,
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because it's so deep
it would crush the Titanic
it would crush the Titanic
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the same way you crush
an empty cup in your hand --
an empty cup in your hand --
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we were sure there would be
no life there at all.
no life there at all.
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Instead, we find more life
and diversity and density
and diversity and density
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than in the tropical rainforest.
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So, in one instance, in one peek
out the window of the sub,
out the window of the sub,
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we discover something
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that revolutionizes the way
we think about life on Earth;
we think about life on Earth;
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and that is, you don't always
have to have sunlight
have to have sunlight
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to get life going.
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There's big animals down there too,
some that look familiar.
some that look familiar.
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That guy's called Dumbo.
I love him. Dumbo's great.
I love him. Dumbo's great.
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This guy -- oh man,
I wish I had more footage of this.
I wish I had more footage of this.
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We're trying to get an expedition
together to go look at this
together to go look at this
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and maybe in a year we'll have that.
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Go online and look.
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Vampyroteuthis infernalis.
The vampire squid.
The vampire squid.
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Incredibly cool.
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In the darkness of the deep sea,
he's got glowing tentacles,
he's got glowing tentacles,
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so if I'm coming at you like him,
I put my arms out in the darkness
I put my arms out in the darkness
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so all you see are little
glowing things over here.
glowing things over here.
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Meanwhile, I'm coming at you.
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When he wants to escape,
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he's got these glowing pods
on his butt that look like eyes.
on his butt that look like eyes.
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Glowing eyes on his butt.
How cool is that?
How cool is that?
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Just an amazing animal.
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(Laughter)
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"Vampire" squid,
because when it gets protective,
because when it gets protective,
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it pulls this black cape
over its whole body,
over its whole body,
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and curls up into a ball.
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Outrageous animal.
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This ship, "The Ship of Dreams" --
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a hundred years ago this coming April,
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this ship was supposed
to show up in New York.
to show up in New York.
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It's the Titanic.
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I co-led an expedition
out there last year.
out there last year.
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We are learning so much about that ship.
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The Titanic is an interesting
place for biology,
place for biology,
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because animals are moving
in to live on the Titanic.
in to live on the Titanic.
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Microbes are actually
eating the hull of the Titanic.
eating the hull of the Titanic.
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That's where Jack was king of the world
there on the bow of the Titanic.
there on the bow of the Titanic.
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So we're doing real good.
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And what's exciting to me
is that we're making a virtual Titanic,
is that we're making a virtual Titanic,
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so you can sit there at home
with your joystick and your headset on,
with your joystick and your headset on,
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and you can actually explore
the Titanic for yourself.
the Titanic for yourself.
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That's what we want to do,
make these virtual worlds,
make these virtual worlds,
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so it's not Dave Gallo or someone else
exploring the world; it's you.
exploring the world; it's you.
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You explore it for yourself.
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So here's the bottom line:
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The oceans are unexplored
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and I can't begin to tell
you how important that is,
you how important that is,
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because they're important to us.
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Seven billion people live on this planet
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and all of us are impacted by the sea,
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because the oceans control the air
you breathe, the water you drink,
you breathe, the water you drink,
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the food you eat.
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All those are controlled
in some way by the ocean,
in some way by the ocean,
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and this is a thing
that we haven't even explored --
that we haven't even explored --
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five percent.
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The thing I want to leave you with is,
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in that five percent,
I showed you some cool stuff.
I showed you some cool stuff.
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There's a lot more cool stuff --
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every dive we go on in the ocean,
we find something new about the sea.
we find something new about the sea.
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So what's in that other 95 percent?
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Did we get the exciting stuff
or is there more out there?
or is there more out there?
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And I'm here to tell you
that the ocean is full of surprises.
that the ocean is full of surprises.
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There's a quote I love by Marcel Proust:
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"The true voyage of exploration
is not so much in seeking new landscapes,"
is not so much in seeking new landscapes,"
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which we do,
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"but in having new eyes."
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And so I hope today,
by showing you some of this,
by showing you some of this,
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it's given you some new eyes
about this planet,
about this planet,
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and for the first time,
I want you to think about it differently.
I want you to think about it differently.
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Thank you very much. Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Gallo - OceanographerA pioneer in ocean exploration, David Gallo is an enthusiastic ambassador between the sea and those of us on dry land.
Why you should listen
David Gallo works to push the bounds of oceanic discovery. Active in undersea exploration (sometimes in partnership with legendary Titanic-hunter Robert Ballard), he was one of the first oceanographers to use a combination of manned submersibles and robots to map the ocean world with unprecedented clarity and detail. He was a co-expedition leader during an exploration of the RMS Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck, using Russian Mir subs.
On behalf of the Woods Hole labs, he appears around the country speaking on ocean and water issues. Most recently he co-led an expedition to create the first detailed and comprehensive map of the RMS Titanic and he co-led the successful international effort to locate the wreck site of Air France flight 447. He is involved in planning an international Antarctic expedition to locate and document the wreckage of Ernest Shackleton’s ship, HMS Endurance.
David Gallo | Speaker | TED.com