The Brilliant Abyss

Exploring the Majestic Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean, and the Looming Threat That Imperils It

By: Helen Scales

Narrated by: Helen Scales

A golden era of deep-sea discovery is underway as revolutionary studies rewrite the very notion of life on Earth and the rules of what is possible. In the process, the abyss is being revealed as perhaps the most amazing part of our planet, its topography even more varied and extreme than its landmass counterpart.

Teeming with unsuspected life, an extraordinary, interconnected ecosystem deep below the waves has a huge effect on our daily lives, influencing climate and weather systems, with the potential for much more—good or bad, depending on how it is exploited. Currently, the fantastic creatures that live in the deep—many of them incandescent in a world without light—and its formations capture and trap vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise poison our atmosphere, and novel bacteria as yet undiscovered hold the promise of potent new medicines. Yet the deep also holds huge mineral riches lusted after by nations and corporations; mining them could ultimately devastate the planet, compounded by the deepening impacts of ubiquitous pollutants and rampant overfishing.

Eloquently and passionately, the author of Spirals in Time and Eye of the Shoal brings to life the majesty and mystery of an alien realm that nonetheless sustains us, while urgently making clear the price we could pay if it is further disrupted.

©2021 Helen Scales (P)2021 Tantor

Good flow and hitting your points clearly

+4,000 year old living coral is a wild fact to now personally be carrying around. Using the deep sea for medical drugs is an interesting avenue. A species as dark as Vanta Black is also quite astonishing. Great insight into the international problem of the deep sea mining for new and innovative technologies. Let’s solve the plastic pollution problem and cleanly extract metals! I see it as an extraction and recycling problem of resources on this planet. To solve the “Climate Problem” we need these resources to build these fantastic technologies. We do need to mine, fish, and extract the deep to survive especially if we want renewable technologies and wish to go into the other Deep, Space. It’s better than promoting slave labor in Subsaharan Africa and parts of Asia/South America, in my opinion. I own the North and South poles. An entertaining book. Good work.

Excellent info about the lovely ocean

The narrator was nice to listen to. Not all voices are. I didn’t know a lot of these things that happened in our ocean. I FEEL like THIS should be taught in school instead
Of the huge mound of crap they currently teach. It’s so important to realize that everything is connected and this book shows that well

Excellent

Very informative on a lesser known but fascinating topic. Can hear the authors passion in the reading!

Written by the author and you can hear her love for this so well, you love it too. Aside from the pure magic that is the ocean.

I love how wondrous it all sounds and how easy it was to digest the science.

Amazing facts about the deep

Climate agenda hokum aside, 95% of this book was amazing facts about the deep ocean.