The ocean
The ocean
Prof. Dr Jürgen Rullkötter
Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Sea Wouldn’t it be handy if the ocean suddenly dried up and we could drive to America? That’s not a good idea, because without water there would be no fish and no other life on Earth either. Nor could any clouds form to provide us with drinking water. The ocean also regulates our climate. Without the warm Gulf Stream, we’d be freezing in winter. 
The ocean is also a treasure trove. Everything that was once in the water accumulates on its seabed – especially the remains of dead organisms. They take a secret down with them: a record of the conditions in which they lived. If we want to know what the Earth was like when the dinosaurs lived, we’ll find the answer on the ocean floor. To do this, we have to drill deep, which is by no means easy. A ‘trip’ in a submersible takes us to a deep part of the ocean that is so inhospitable that not even fish can live there.
Presenter: Anke Genius (NDR) Wednesday, 16 February 2005, 4.30 pm
Audimax Lecture Centre