Unseen Oceans

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[A birds eye view of waves cresting and crashing. The American Museum of Natural History’s logo appears on top.]

JOHN SPARKS (Curator, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History): Most people’s feeling about the Earth is that we know everything.

[A manta ray glides past some coral in a deep blue ocean. Tiny jellyfish pulsate past. Cut to a shot of a humpback whale fin splashing the surface of the water.

John Sparks appears on screen. Lower third reads “John Sparks. Curator, Department of Ichthyology.”]

SPARKS: We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the ocean floor.

[A remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) scans the sea floor.]

SPARKS: Only about 10-15% of the ocean floor has been mapped with any accuracy.

[A ray of blue light pierces the blackness of the water to land on a single bright green coral. The camera pans over dimly lit underwater mountains. Fish swim between rocks in a canyon-like reef. A submarine descends into a deep gorge.]

SPARKS: Every time we put our ROV or sub in the water, we find something new still.

[A strange-looking long, skinny fish floats with its nose pointed downward. The camera pans over a brittle star weaved tightly into a sea fan. A transparent sea cucumber undulates on a black background.]

SPARKS: We see fish that we can’t identify-

[A grumpy-looking frog fish with mottled red and green skin sits atop a pile of rocks. A sub descends onto sand and hundreds of small flat fish swim up suddenly.]

SPARKS: -or habitats that are just extremely bizarre.

[The camera flies over an underwater volcano with a smoke-like substance pouring out. White crabs and shrimp scuttle near a black smoking plume pouring out of a crevice.]

SPARKS: New technology is really advancing our understanding of the ocean.

[A blue light is shined on a wall of coral. A snorkeler places a grid of coral polyps on a sandy area near a reef. The screen splits into four panels showing a point-of-view video of a humpback whale diving in the ocean.]

SPARKS: From tagging whales to studying biofluorescent fishes and corals,

[The camera pans over a coral reef that is radiating neon reds, greens, and yellows.]

SPARKS: we can now collect much more data, and we can also use things like ROVs and submersibles-

[An ROV inspects a giant white sponge on a rock wall. A manned submersible traverses a murky ocean. A closeup of the submersible shows three scientists checking their controls.]

SPARKS: -to get to areas of the ocean that we haven’t been able to access in the past.

[A shark swims past in the dark ocean and barren seafloor. A nautilus and large shrimp tug at a dead fish. Tropical fish swim among the folds of an anemone. A cuttlefish jets along a coral reef.]

SPARKS: It’s important to study the oceans because they have such an impact on how we live and on the Earth,

[A surfer leaps over a wave. Two children run together along the sandy beach at the water’s edge.]

SPARKS: in terms of climate, in terms of food sources, in terms of the oxygen we breathe.

[A satellite image shows hurricanes forming above the Atlantic Ocean. A man displays a lobster to a potential buyer. A tiny microorganism swims among plankton.

Quick flashes of jellyfish, a submarine, a snorkeler holding bleached coral, and the ocean waves at the surface. The image fades to black.

Fading up from black we see a submarine turning slowly to face the camera on a background of deep blue ocean, floating alone. Slowly, the words “Unseen Oceans” are revealed, and then, “Opens March 12.”]

[MUSIC FADES]

[Credits appear.

Lead funding for Unseen Oceans and its educational resources is provided by

OceanX, an initiative of the Dalio Foundation.

The American Museum of Natural History gratefully acknowledges the

Richard and Karen LeFrak Exhibition and Education Fund.

Unseen Ocean is proudly supported by Chase Private Client.

Video

AMNH / L. Stevens

AMNH / A. Lenzo, H. Gentry, R. Miyamoto

AMNH / K. Corben

David Gruber

Denise King

Jeremy Goldbogen and John Calambokidis, NMFS Permit #16111

John Sparks

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Vincent Pieribone

Wildlife Conservation Society

Music

“Magic Evening” by Adam Mark Gubman (ASCAP) / Warner/Chappell Production Music

© American Museum of Natural History]