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Earth’s surface is two thirds water; we know more about the contours of the moon than we do about the ocean floors. How do we explore the oceans and what is down there for us? Naked Science: Deep 2 dives into the issue of Ocean exploration and heads down, deeper and deeper to the bottom of the oceans, following in the footsteps of the submersible Trieste.

The deeper you go, the more and more water above you, generating a greater and greater pressure. After descending to just 33ft, the pressure is double that on land. This is known as two atmospheres of pressure and the size of a free diver’s lung has halved. Pressure can wreak havoc on the human physiology, effects of nitrogen at depth cause both nitrogen narcosis and the dreaded bends. Even life giving oxygen can be deadly when breathed deep beneath the waves. To combat this scientists have created mixtures of gasses such as heliox and trimix that combat these deadly effects.

Even at depths as shallow as 60 feet scientific study is limited by the effects of pressure on the human body. This is where Aquarius underwater laboratory come in. It lies 60 feet beneath the waves and provides a home for up to 6 scientists at a time. It is pressurized to ambient pressure meaning the divers can go in and out as they choose and dive for up to eight hours a day with out the need for decompression. The pressurized living space also means they can you use a moon pool as entry and exit – an open hole in the floor of the habitat, the water held out by the pressure of air in Aquarius. Unfortunately it takes 17 hours to decompress after the two week stay. NASA use the base as a training place for space. The confined space and hazardous environment prove a perfect testing ground for its intrepid explores.

But what if we need to go deeper to discover some of science’s unanswered questions? If humans can’t go to great depths unprotected how then do we go there? The answer is cutting edge technology. Phil Nuytten developed the Newt Suit: a one man, one atmosphere submersibles that allow engineers to work thousands of feet underwater. But deeper still takes more protection. Bob Ballard used Alvin, a two man sub, when he discovered the hydrothermal vents that reshaped our ideas about the basis of life on earth and its very creation. Spouting super heated water these vents, 7,000 feet down amazingly form the initial input of energy that supports and intricate ecosystem the only ones that live away from he sun’s influence, including giant clams and eight feet worms.

These Vents could provide more than just energy for basic life; it could be gold mine, literally. These vents produce high grade metals including gold and copper. Phil Nuytten has plans to build ‘Vent Base Alpha’ a one atmosphere base that allows humans to live, work and mine around the vents and the first truly permanent underwater base.

How deep can we go? Don Walsh took the Trieste as low as we can go – the Marina Trench. Over seven miles down, it’s cold, dark and dangerous. Pressure levels over 1000 times that of the surface results in 200,000 tons of pressure on the sphere. Only two people have ever been and no vehicle has been as deep since. Even here fish live proving life