Customer Reviews

The Universe Below

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

The Last Great Wilderness

THE 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-Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs) Mystic and Avalon, the more advanced manned submersibles Turtle and Sea Cliff, and modern surface ships designed and built specifically to support undersea operations and research. New and more advanced scientific instruments and systems, underwater robots, navigation techniques, and sonar technologies also were pioneered during this era.

In a chapter titled, "The Battle Zone," Broad draws on numerous interviews, declassified documents, and previously published accounts to relate how these developments enabled the Navy to wage an intentionally unpublicized but highly successful campaign to gather information about Soviet equipment and weapons, and even retrieve some from the seabed. The full story details may never be made public, Broad states, but he provides abundant evidence to support evidence to support the claim of some analysts that the U.S. Navy's deep-sea feats were the West's greatest intelligence coup in four decades of spying on the USSR.

With the end of the Cold War and a shift in U.S. geopolitical strategy, an unintended peace dividend emerged when the equipment and technologies essential to of the U.S. Navy's covert operations gradually became available the nation's (and allied) to civilian research, academic, and commercial sectors. Fleet attack submarines were enrolled in well-publicized scientific research. The previous tight security about the U.S. Navy's worldwide array of undersea microphones was relaxed, and scientists were afforded a revealing window to the deep through access to the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS). Meanwhile, faced with its own internal adjustments and economic realities, Russia began to sell or rent its equipment and fleets of submersibles and surface ships to foreigners.

In successive chapters, enriched with accounts of his own participation on several expeditions, Broad explains how access to these new technologies and instruments has led to a rapidly accelerating growth in underwater exploration and exploitation. The world has indeed entered a new era. The deep sea comes to life as Broad takes the reader on numerous diving expeditions around the globe, from the wreckage of the Titanic to the lost relics of earlier ages and the current, still, ongoing exploration of California's Monterey Canyon.

The U.S. Navy has retired several of its submersibles, and Broad thoroughly documents the increasingly important oceanic research role played by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the nation's other public and private oceanographic research centers. The now-enthralled readers learns of, and from, Broad's firsthand experiences during the exploration of deep volcanism on the ocean's floor-and the observance of the literally hundreds of different animal species flourishing there, many of them new to science. Heat-loving microbes, considered the likely ancestors of all life of Earth, thrive in temperatures in excess of 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Broad explains how microbial research will soon be opening new doors in the understanding of genetics and the development of genetic tools to help cure numerous diseases.

Broad paints a compelling portrait of how new technologies open undersea possibilities that are often a double-edged sword. The uneasy balance between commercial salvors and marine archeologists has been upset with the ascendancy of commercial teams and treasure hunters. Slow-growing stocks of fish from the deep sea have been exploited dangerously through overfishing, with little understanding of long-term consequences, he also points out. Increasing numbers of small countries, private firms, and individuals will have access to the deep in the years to come. Yet, the effects of pollution, ocean warming, and falling levels of plankton, and of surface fish, all project uncertain consequences for the deep oceans.

Broad makes a convincing argument that the emerging benefits tied to exploitation of the deep must be weighed carefully against the risks. It is important to address these issues in a serious way, he emphasizes-possibly by strengthening the public sector so it may better guide the private one. In his mind, a prudent step toward proper ecological stewardship would be to place entire regions of the deep off limits to deep fishing, seabed mining, and other commercial development.

Broad clearly has done his homework. He explains the minutiae of undersea biology, geology, and oceanography in a fluent, authoritative style that will appeal to a wide range of readers. The text is graced with profuse and elegant illustrations by artist Dimitry Schidlovsky; Broad explains that reproduction of undersea photography is inadequate to depict the incredible sights of the deep's geology, fauna, and unusual living inhabitants. He supplements his captivating narrative with a chronology of deep exploration, a generous glossary, informative end notes, and a comprehensive bibliography.

Most living things on planet Earth reside in the sea, Broad writes, but mankind still knows precious little of those occupying the darkened waters of the deep oceans. The current transformation in oceanographic research is similar to the age of global exploration launched 500 years ago, he says, but the push is now downward, not outward-with new advances already in the works and most of the last great remaining wilderness to be explored.

In this wide-ranging volume, New York Times science writer Broad shows us different dimensions of the deep sea. He covers scientific exploration of deep sea life and hydrothermal vents, military activities including intelligence gathering and the search for a lost H-bomb, mineral exploration, and treasure-seeking. While none of his chapters offer comprehensive coverage, they do whet the appetite. Broad's writing style is lively and sometimes personal. The illustrations by Dmitry Schidlovsky may be artistically interesting, but photographs and maps would have been more useful.

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.

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.

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 biological research. Broad grants a chapter to the great Monterey Canyon close to the California shoreline. Its proximity makes deep exploration less expensive than long-distance ventures, and the bizarre life found there enters the scientific literature with a host of novel species.

Novel species and the mineral extrusions at the depths generated a wave of further exploration, this time commercial. Attempts to mine the seas were old, but Germany's Fritz Haber launched a new venture in distilling gold from seawater. Although this effort proved fruitless, others were interested in recovering the manganese nodules found on the bottom. The "smokers" also held promise of mineral wealth to be had for the harvesting. Broad's account of these efforts makes entertaining reading, but the minerals of the seas remain a dream, not a reality. Fisheries, on the other hand, proved more rewarding. Newly discovered fish, such as the Orange Roughy off New Zealand were a lucrative catch for a time. Their life cycle, however, suggested that over fishing was a threat from the start. Living to a ripe old age - exceeding that of most humans, also meant their breeding cycle was slow and unproductive. Resources in the deep are few and erratic, as the depletion of Orange Roughy stocks quickly demonstrated.

Broad's account of deep-sea exploration is a fine read, and has already been declared a classic by some commentators. Recent efforts in the abyss show that some elements of the book are already becoming dated. Nevertheless, as an all-inclusive history, this book remains unmatched. As the author points out, no matter how secretive the deep seas seem to have been, that largest ecosystem on the planet is an essential part of all existence. Your interests need not be confined to "just" the sea to glean value from Broad's efforts to summarise what we've discovered there and how it was accomplished. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Disappointing use of fascinating material. Broad, unfortunately, commits felonious journalism against the reader. It is just NOT interesting to read an entire paragraph about the road to David Packard's home ... about the fences, the trees, the bicyclists and what they're wearing ... nor another whole paragraph on another Monterey deep-sea expert's black Corvette ... The descriptions of the dives are burdened, burdened, burdened, with monotonous minute-by-minute accounts, descriptions of coffee cups and beards and ... I WANTED DRAMA! It's the last frontier, the most foreign spot imaginable, and Broad was letting the drama bleed away by talking about Portuguese politics! As a last rant, the graphics were OK but sparse, and the lack of photographs about this shimmeringly foreign world was a constant misery.

Judging this book by the cover, I assumed that it was going to be nothing more than a great cataloging of the biological diversity of the ocean. I was quite wrong, but very pleased with the contents nonetheless. The Universe Below covers our entire (very recent!) knowledge of and relationship with the ocean's depths.

Throughout this story Broad introduces us to many of the inhabitants of the deep sea including hyperthermophilic bacteria, giant squid, tube worms, anglerfish, octopus-squid hybrids and floating ctenophore "nets". The author discusses the speculation surrounding the lives and habits of these mysterious animals, and muses on the many creatures that we have yet not observed. Beyond describing the inhabitants of the deep, Broad tackles the topics of the longevity of many deep creatures and the potential dangers (both economical and ecological) of deep sea dredging and fishing.

In addition to his accounts of the biology of the deep sea, Broad also tackles the geology of the ocean, covering such topics as seawater composition, deep sea vents, volcanic activity, the potential and history of deep sea mining, and the physical quirks that result from the intense pressures and temperatures that occur in the abyss.

To guide the reader through these physical and biological wonders, Broad uses history as a framework. Starting with early explorers and their sounding lines attempting to measure the depths of the ocean, the author guides us through the present day. He vividly recounts the first Bathysphere and Bathyscaphe, the tragedies of the Thresher and the Scorpion, the recovery of the Titanic, the dumping of nuclear waste in the sea, the development of Alvin, and the recovery of countless shipwrecks from ancient to modern. Because I was drawn to this book by it's promise of accounts of biological wonders, I was surprised to find myself most engaged by Broad's accounts of the clandestine undersea missions undertaken during WW II and the cold war. I was also intrigued by the connections between Silicon Valley moguls and latest developments in marine exploration.

No matter where your interests lie, this story of the sea will capture your imagination. From history to technology, biology to geology, Broad successfully weaves the threads of science and history together to create an enlightening (and at times frightening!) tale of this mysterious frontier.

A book about the ocean? Indeed, the deep sea may lie many hundreds of miles from Yellowstone, but the two places have much in common, especially under a microscope. There you see the tiny microbes that live in Yellowstone's hot springs and their close relatives that dwell among hot springs on the ocean floor.

Broad, a New York Times science writer, leads the reader into a dark and hidden world as mysterious as outer space and introduces the wondrous creatures that lurk there. The Universe Below, now available in paperback, eventually touches on Yellowstone, which in many ways remains just as strange and curious as anything the deep oceans could produce.

This is an outstanding, readable survey of several of the new ways that we are increasingly interacting with the oceans. Broad covers a wide range of topics, some of which I learned about for the first time. This is a great book for non-specialists that want to get a sense of where the action is. Topics covered include military intelligence, treasure hunting, studies of hydrothermal vent fields, depletion of fisheries, study of Monterey Canyon by the unique, private research foundation founded by David Packard, and dumping of radioactive wastes. The book is richly illustrated and is accompanied by detailed references that are presented in a way that reinforces the credibility of the book without affecting its readability.