Whalefall Illustration - Stage 1
Whalefall Illustration - Stage 1 Image: Creator: Michael Rothman
© Michael Rothman

Much like the deep oceans themselves, the work we're discovering on the web is incredible.

Development of the diverse exhibition, Deep Oceans, is well under way and Em Blamey (Exhibition Project Coordinator) is always on the look-out for stories and works that can help complement the journey we're creating with Questacon.

We are constantly finding artworks, photographs, blogs and forums (to name just a few things) from a huge variety of niche interests people have.

The wonderful animation below highlights one of the key habitat zones within deep oceans: whale fall. The video is a perfect example of sharing scientific information in a creative way, as well as being a wonderfully artistic.



Whale Fall (after life of a whale) from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

A little more detail on whale fall

When whales and other large sea creatures die, their bodies sink to the depths of the ocean and provide essential nourishment for a range of deep ocean creatures. No part of the whale’s body goes to waste - flesh and bone are all consumed - so great use is made of the 'fallen' whale. Some of the creatures feasting on the carcass will also become meals.

The video above highlights some fascinating facts regarding whale fall. One worth noting: the habitat can exist for up to 50 years!

To give an idea of just how deep 'Deep' is, if you go straight down for 3 - 6 kilometres from the ocean's surface, you are likely to hit the Abyssal Plain. Even lower than that there are also habitats known as Trenches. These can extend to nearly 11 kilometres or 11,000 metres - a really long way down.