March 22, 2017•Update: March 23, 2017
By Selma Kasap
ANKARA
Scientists from the Turkish capital Ankara are set to explore the effects of global warming through taking a submarine thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface.
Mustafa Yucel of the Marine Science Institute at Middle East Technical University (METU) spoke to Anadolu Agency Wednesday about the research they will be doing with American scientists as part of an international project.
Yucel said they will be diving in the Eastern Pacific, west of Costa Rica, inside a titanium sphere-encased submarine.
Saying that the research will be done in cooperation with the University of Delaware, he explained, “Through an hour’s descent by free fall, we will go down to a depth of 2,500 meters and do research for seven hours on the ocean floor.”
Underwater volcanoes
Yucel said they are descending to these depths to gather data and better understand the role of underwater volcanoes in climate change.
“There are outstretched volcanoes like mountain ranges on the ocean floor where we will dive. So there are hydrothermal vents in this region. The hot water brings along metals like iron, gold, and silver -- valuable mineral deposits. We all explore these mineral deposits.”
He added, “We can see that living things in the ocean are absorbing excessive carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Global warming is a factor in this.”
Through analyzing the data from the ocean floor, Yucel said that they want to make predictions about future conditions.
