Trifter

The Seven Wonders of the Underwater World were researched by CEDAM International in 1989. CEDAM, standing for Conservation, Diving, Awareness and Marine is an organization dedicated to marine research and conservation. It wished to draw attention to seven underwater areas that were worth protection.

The seven prize winners, representing the best areas for marine life were:

• Palau
• Belize Barrier Reef
• Great Barrier Reef
• Deep-Sea Vents
• Galapagos Islands
• Lake Baikal
• Northern Red Sea.

These are places we should cherish and respect.

Rock Islands, Pilau. Source: Wikipedia

Palau is a tiny island state in the Pacific Ocean. The archipelago lies 500 miles east of the Philippines, 2,000 miles south of Tokyo.  The low lying islands major threat from global warming and the associated sea level rise.  The environment remains largely free of degradation, although there are issues with illegal fishing, inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste and extensive sand and coral dredging in the Palau lagoon.

The Rock Islands are famous for their beaches and blue lagoons. These limestone outcrops are the ancient remains of coral reefs. The area offers fine diving and is hoke to several kinds of unique sting less jellyfish.

Palau has made history by introducing the first commercial shark sanctuary. The President of Palau, Johnson Toribiong announced his plans to the United Nations on 25th September 2009.   

The Great Blue Hole, Belize Barrier Reef. Source: Wikipedia

The Belize Barrier Reef is part of the much longer Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.  This stretches 900km (560 miles) from Cancun in Mexico to Honduras. In the north of Belize the coral reef is 300m (1,000 ft) offshore. In southern Belize, the reef is 40 kilometres (25 miles) offshore.

The Belize Barrier Reef is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Some 70 hard coral species, 36 soft coral species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of invertebrate species have been identified.  There may be many more. Only 10% of the reef has been thoroughly explored.

The reef is under threat from human and environmental changes. Some 40% of the reef has been damaged since 1998.

One of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Source: thetoptensite.com

The Great Barrier Reef the world’s largest coral reef system. It contains over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands and extends for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.  The reef supports a very diverse range of plants and animals.

The ecosystem faces great pressures from global warming accompanies by mass coral bleaching, changes in water quality, overfishing and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish.

Sulfide chimney of the Magic Mountain hydrothermal field, British Columbia, Canada. Source: Wikipedia

Deep Sea vents release hot geothermal water into the oceans. These vents are found in volcanically active areas where the continental plates are moving apart.  These areas are biologically fascinating. In the cold, dark deep ocean one would not expect to fund life.  The deep sea vents are extra-ordinary oases that support giant tube worms, clams, limpets and shrimps. In most places on Earth, life is ultimately powered, through photosynthesis, from the sun.  At the deep sea vent, life is powered by the heat generated from geothermal energy. 

Source: Wikipedia

The Galapagos Islands are a group of islands that straddle the Equator 972 km to the West of Ecuador. These volcanic islands are famous for their endemic species, which are found nowhere else on Earth. They were famously described by Charles Darwin in his book The Voyage of the Beagle and were inspiration for his Theory of Evolution.  

Noteworthy species include:

• Galapagos land iguanas
• Marine Iguana
• Galapagas tortoise
• Galapagos Green Turtle
• Sea cucumbers
• Flightless Cormorant
• Great Frigatebird
• Blue-footed Booby
• Galapagos Penguin
• Waved Albatross
• Galapagos Hawk
• 4 endemic species of Galapagos mockingbirds
• 13 endemic species of Darwin’s finches 
• Galapagos Sea Lions.

Source: Wikipedia

Lake Baikal in Siberia is the largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world. It contains nearly 20 percent of the world’s total surface fresh water. The Lake is 636 kilometers (395 mi) long and 79 kilometers (49 mi) wide. The lake is flanked by mountains and is part of the deepest rift valley system in the world. The lake bed is  1,186.5 meters (3,893 ft) below the surface level. Below lies some 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) of sediment, making the rift floor some 8–11 kilometers (more than 5 miles) below the surface.  The waters are exceptionally clear. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else on Earth.

Source: Wikipedia

The Red Sea is a large seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean between Asia and Africa. It is roughly 2250 km (1398 miles) long and 355km (220 miles) wide at its widest point. In the north, the Sea splits into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gult fo Suez. The Sea is part of a rift valley system. At the centre, the average depth is 490m (1,608 feet) but there are extensive shallows which are noted for their marine life and corals. Over 1,000 invertabrate species and 200 soft and hard corals can be found in the sea.  Some 10% of the fist species are found nowhere else on Earth.