The world’s oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface, but lower than 5% of their depth has been explored.
Living organisms, from plankton to humans, live in our oceans and play a key role in stabilizing the Earth’s temperature. As climate change changes the planet, these habitats and their species are at increased risk. All locations listed below needs to be approached with caution – please note local restrictions and advice. Here are 12 of probably the most impressive underwater environments on the earth.
1. Red Sea
Apart from Antarctica, no place on earth combines such extreme land aridity with such wealthy and diverse marine habitats. Situated between Africa and Asia, stretching over 1,500 km from the Sinai Peninsula to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea boasts over 1,000 species of fish, 200 species of coral and one other 1,000 species of invertebrates. It can be a preferred site for wreck diving, and among the most intact wrecks will be present in the Gubal Strait.
2. Bonaire, Venezuela
Located within the Netherlands Antilles off the coast of Venezuela, this island is the most effective diving spots within the Caribbean. The waters around Bonaire have been protected for 25 years by an actively managed marine park. The island’s location within the southern Caribbean provides a dry climate with little rainfall; due to this fact, the waters are exceptionally clear and calm all yr round, making it a favourite spot for underwater photographers and videographers.
3. Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
Photo: Scott Sporleder
The Great Barrier Reef is 2,600 miles long, 133,000 square miles in size, accommodates over 3,000 individual reefs and islands, and is home to hundreds of species. Due to human disregard for the environment, huge swaths of the reef have gotten “bleached.” Bleaching occurs when a coral is under great stress in its environment, possibly on account of rising temperatures or a rise in pollution. When coral bleaches, it’s more more likely to die. And if enough corals in a reef die, much of the reef life goes with it. As ocean temperatures rise, pollution increases and ocean acidity increases, reefs around the globe are bleaching.
4. Wakatobi, Indonesia
The Wakatobi Reefs are home to among the most diverse and engaging marine life found anywhere on the earth. The undersea terrain includes isolated seamounts, scattered bombs, submarine ridges, fringing reefs, and reef slopes with hard coral gardens; and seagrass beds and stunningly steep slopes framed by a rainbow palette of gorgonian sea fans, sea whips and soft corals.
5. Palau, Micronesia
Micronesia is the collective name given to 2,000 tiny tropical islands scattered over greater than 5 million miles within the Pacific Ocean. The eight island groups that make up Micronesia are Guam, the Republic of Palau, the Mariana Islands, Pohnpei, Yap, Truk Chuuk, the Marshalls and Kosrae – each unique group with its own culture, language, history and attractions.
Palau is an archipelagic country in Micronesia consisting of over 200 limestone islands. It is positioned 800 km from its closest neighbors – Mindanao within the Philippines and North Maluku in Indonesia. Palau’s 25,000 inhabitants and government take their environmental awareness seriously. In 2001, the Palau Shark Sanctuary was established to guard sharks and a couple of,000 species of fish from longlines. Hotels sell reef-safe sunscreen, and all visitors pay a green fee on the airport.
6. Galapagos Islands
Photo: Barry Peters
Recognized as considered one of the 7 biggest underwater wonders of the world, the Galapagos Islands remain relatively unknown amongst diving enthusiasts. They are still relatively private, pristine and unexplored. Unlike hottest diving spots, the reefs are usually not the primary attraction of those islands. Instead, areas akin to Darwin and Wolf Islands are home to several different species of sharks, including hammerhead sharks, galapagos sharks and whale sharks. Often, divers will encounter schools of sharks numbering within the a whole bunch.7. Barrier Reef in Belize
7. Coral reef in Belize
Belize is home to seven World Heritage Sites – right on the barrier reef, which is the second longest barrier reef on the earth and one of the vital diverse ecosystems on the earth. An estimated 90 percent of all reef species in Belize remain to be studied. The country also boasts over 1,060 mangroves and/or sandbanks. Some of them, like Caye Caulker, are inhabited; others are home only to birds but are price exploring.
8. Tufi, Papua New Guinea
It is a pristine reef with gigantic schools of fish unaccustomed to the bubbles of divers, a military of World War II wrecks and creatures starting from two-meter hammerheads to two-millimeter pygmy seahorses.
Source: https://matadornetwork.com/read/the-12-most-incredible-underwater-environments-on-earth/
