The Universe Below

by William J. Broad

Book Overview

Pulitzer Prize winner William J. Broad takes us on an adventure to the planet's last and most exotic frontier -- the depths of the sea. The Universe Below examines how we are illuminating its dark... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684811081
• ISBN13: 9780684811086
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Probing the biggest ecosystem

Aptly titled, Broad has provided a comprehensive account of the exploration of the deeps of the seas. The focus is on the history of that quest, which is spiced by many personalities and the development of mechanisms to delve into the high-pressure darkness of the depths. The author's opening is auspicious. During a two kilometre deep dive [how do they clear journalists for claustrophobia?], the team encounters, of all things, a Reebok tennis shoe! The human presence in the seas is secondary from that point on, but the image remains. Human concepts of the deep sea, however, are ancient. It was long believed that the depths could hold no life. Dark and mysterious, the seas' were considered beyond human ken, hence, likely meaningless. Even when long distance voyages and tales of mysterious creatures were imparted, they were still considered to inhabit at least mid-level zones. Soundings were done with weighted lines, but even when these emerged with jellies or other life, the great depths were deemed empty. The first breakthroughs didn't occur until the 19th Century, Broad explains. Technology had brought the telegraph and lines laid on the bottom to transmit information were an early consideration. It was assumed the sea bottom was relatively flat and uncluttered. This fallacy was increasingly exposed over the years. From the first efforts starting in 1872 by the Royal Navy's HMS Challenger, oceanic exploration began in earnest, if sporadically. William Beebe's early manned expeditions provided tantalising hints of life in the deeps. The real breakthroughs, however, were prompted by the "Cold War" between the US and the Soviet Union. Nuclear-powered submarines were mobile, fast and secretive. How to find and track them became a major element in naval research. The result was a wave of new technologies and devices for understanding what went on in the depths. Hunting other subs, and locating and recovering those lost to accidents, became a primary focus. The "recovery" effort meant devices that could bring observers and grappling equipment to the great pressures of the sea bottom. Broad's account of those efforts is as thorough as available information allows. Lost submarines from the contending nations were targets of location and acquisition efforts. "Cold War" enterprises led to the search for lost vessels such as the USS Thresher and WWII's I-52, a Japanese sub that went down in the mid-Atlantic. The end of that un-fought conflict brought the technology into private hands, with "treasure" hunting or geophysical research gaining new exploration tools. The "Alvin" and other submersible probes entered new tasks in delving the mysterious deeps. The most shining example was the discovery of "hot smokers" belching superheated mineral-laden waters from far below the Earth's surface. Most surprising of the finds was the myriad life forms surrounding these exotic chimneys. Finding life in the abyss led to new oceanic biolo

fascinating world, opened by new technologies

This is the story of how technology has opened a new frontier of science, much as van Leeuwenhoek did with the microscope. Broad reports on how the mysteries of the deepest oceans are opening up to our eyes with mini-supersubs, sonar devices, and robots. Much of this revolution is due, he says, to the end of the Cold War, which allowed us to put them to scientific rather than miltary purposes. The world they discovered may harbor the most diverse forms of life on the planet, in environments hostile beyone imagination. Broad introduces us to an incredible gallery of exotic creatures, from hypothermophiles - bacteria that live in lava-heated water of 400 degrees F - to countless species of squid and manowars. Braod also accompanies treasure hunters as they explore for ancient artifacts and rare minerals. THe book is part history, part primer in technology, and part environmental tract, and the skill with which Broad combines these concerns whows why he won the Pulitzer twice. It is also poetically written. Highest recommendation. This book can ignite the imagination for a lifetime.

This book shouldn't be this good

When I think of the deep I think visually of the animals down there. This book has very poor pictures of these creatures and thus should not be very good. But Broad does an excellent job of telling a story from beginning to end with each chapter being a self contained story of man's exploration into the deep. One chapter is on the research being done around Monterey CA, another about the history of deep sea mining, another on deep sea nuclear dumps, all of which are great stories. It is a little light on the biological but makes up for it in giving the reader an understanding of how we got to where we are today.

invaluable book on the deep sea

Anyone fascinated by the deep sea, both open ocean and the seafloor itself, should purchase this fine work. Thorough in its coverage, it speaks of issues relating to the biology and geology of the deep sea, replete with dragon fish, angler fish, hydrothermal vents, weird worms, crinoids, and all manner of seemingly alien life forms. Read about the search for "living fossils" and relics of bygone ages, as well as the quest for that enigmatic monster, the giant squid. Several black and white illustrations help bring these organisms to life.The book also covers the human history with relation to the deep sea as well, chronicling the exploration of the deep and man's views of it, from the days of ancient history through Jules Verne through Cold War intrigue. The history of many famous deep sea submarines and exploration vehicles are provided, as well as the men and often politics behind them. Not all uses of the deep sea have been peaceful, as illustrated by coverage of US-Soviet interactions during the last 50 years, well covered in this book.I recommend this book, as not only it is a great nature and science book but also a history book, a rare thing. It is very readable and has kept up the last few nights.

An extraordinary chronicle of deep-ocean exploration.

The Last Great WildernessTHE UNIVERSE BELOW: Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea. Reviewed by Capt. Gordon I. Peterson, USN (Ret.),Senior Editor, Sea Power Magazine The International Year of the Ocean (YOTO) in 1998 sought to publicize the critical role the oceans play in shaping the life of the planet. William J. Broad, a science reporter for The New York Times since 1983, has made a masterful contribution to that goal in his fifth book, The Universe Below, a fascinating chronicle of the ongoing rush of discovery aimed at learning more about the largest unexplored part of the planet: the deep sea-which, in Broad's view, represents the world's "last great wilderness." Broad's work, the product of more than a decade of journalistic research, interviews, and firsthand experience, offers a gripping account of past, present and future efforts to unlock the secrets of the oceanic depths lying beyond the shallow borders of the world's continental land masses. These deep oceans encompass roughly 65 percent of the earth's surface; devoid of sunlight, they are estimated to occupy 97 percent of the space inhabited by Earth's living things. More than 500 years have elapsed since the beginning of the Age of Discovery's epic voyages of exploration. But, Broad asserts, "The truth is that our planet has managed to remain largely unexplored, until now." Contrary to the popular and scientific misconceptions of past centuries, the waters and seabeds of the deep are teeming with life. Broad, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, reveals how this strange and remote undersea environment is only now beginning to be understood as its secrets are slowly discovered and deciphered. Following an informative survey of how scientists and seafarers of many nations had labored for centuries to understand the mysteries of the depths, Broad describes in considerable detail the U.S. Navy's pioneering efforts in deep-ocean research and operations, primarily through the use of manned submersibles, during the long years of the cold war. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) contracted for use of Auguste Piccard's bathyscaph Trieste in 1957, and purchased the craft the following year. In the competition for budget dollars, these early years of the U.S. Navy's deep-ocean research are described as a love-hate affair within the upper echelons on the Navy. To the consternation of the Navy's undersea explorers and scientists, Trieste was retired in 1961. Her retirement was short-lived, however. Broad explains how the tragic loss of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher in 1963, and Trieste's five-month search for its wreckage, generated a major reassessment of Navy policy. This appraisal led to far-reaching improvements in the Navy's deep-sea capabilities during the decade that followed, beginning with the christening of the submersible Alvin in 1964. Other craft followed, including the nuclear-powered research submarine NR-1, the Deep-Submerge