Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, an ecosystem exists in water so salty and lacking in oxygen that its marine life is unique and virtually unstudied.Called the Orca Basin, it’s now the focus of a corporate effort to profit from fighting climate change by dumping tons of organic waste into its depths, a deep-sea biologist explains in a new op-ed.“The Orca Basin is not a waste repository waiting for a use. It is a living system that has been developing for thousands of years, hosting organisms we have barely begun to characterize, preserving a chemical and biological record we have barely begun to read,” the author argues.This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
It’s 3 a.m. and I am standing on the deck of a research vessel, staring into water so dark it looks solid. I feel what I felt standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set: there are places in this world deserving of our reverence, our protection, and our humility.
The Orca Basin is one of those places.
I have spent years working in the deep Gulf of Mexico, lowering instruments into the dark, pulling up sediment cores that smell of sulfur, watching remotely operated vehicle (ROV) footage of a seafloor that most people will never see, and few even know exists.
