Scientists discover 31 new deep-sea species in the midwaters off Brazil
A Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition exploring the dimly lit midwaters off the coast of Brazil has identified about 31 new species, from glass squid and comb jellies to delicate gossamer worms. Researchers describe this midwater zone, between the sunlit surface and the deep sea, as the largest habitat on Earth, and one we are only beginning to understand. In a stretch of ocean few eyes ever reach, life turned out to be everywhere.
"How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small."
Psalm 104 is a long, delighted tour of creation, and when the poet reaches the sea he simply marvels: it is teeming with creatures beyond number, both large and small. For most of history those were words of faith, since no one had seen the life of the deep midwater. Now a research vessel lowers its cameras into the largest, darkest habitat on the planet and finds exactly that, dozens of never-before-seen creatures in a single expedition. The God of Psalm 104 made a world so abundant that it overflows even where no human eye will ever watch. In wisdom He made them all.
Lord, how many are Your works. You fill even the deep and dark places of the sea with life no one has ever seen, made in wisdom and held by Your hand. Give us fresh wonder at the world You made, and deeper trust in the One who made it all. Amen.