Don't be afraid of the DEEPEND of the ocean!

Hello everyone,

My name is Ruth A. Musgrave and I write for kids and teach about the ocean. My favorite place is the deep. My favorite kind of animal...a deep sea animal. Why? The deep is a beautiful, complex, and mysterious part of our world. It is filled with weird and wonderful creatures. 

As Dante shares the photos of this first cruise, you might think it must be Halloween 24/7 down there!  But once you understand the purpose of massive teeth, a see-through head, or bulging eyes, then you'll see why all of us with DEEPEND find these creatures fascinating, enchanting, and sometimes even cute! Really! (Okay, cute might be a bit of a stretch with some!)

Before we wade in to the science and animals of the DEEPEND, you should meet our science team.  The DEEPEND project is so exciting and has so many extraordinary scientists all with different areas of expertise that, I admit, I was a bit awe-struck and overwhelmed at our first meeting earlier this year. For a person who would brush past a movie star to have a chance to talk to scientist, it is exciting to be a part of this three-year mission and share it with kids and teachers.

What kind of animals do you like? Fish, squid, shrimp, jellies? You name and we have an expert! What if you're a technology enthusiast, don't worry, we have experts for that, too! Acoustics, optics, genome research, and other kinds of technology are an essential part of the DEEPEND research. Oh, and we have people, like me, who will take the exciting discoveries and share them with you through this blog, programs like Postcards from the Deep, Creep into the Deep, Teacher workshops, fun activities, and other Education and Outreach opportunities.

But first, meet our science team by clicking on this link: www.deependconsortium.org/index.php/about/the-team/scientists

Thanks for joining me at the DEEPEND!

Ruth

WhaleTimes, Inc.