20,000 leagues under the sea? Not quite: 12-08-2008
A team of British scientists are to explore the depths of the ocean off the coast of Mexico.
The team will descend to depths of up to 7,000 meters to study the untouched ocean floor in the Cayman Trench.
The trench runs between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica and scientists hope it will help them unlock some of the secrets of the world's largest ecosystem; deep-sea life.
Southampton University's Dr Jon Copley joked that the expedition has been compared to the 1989 film The Abyss, which featured the trench.
"It's a very safe bet that we'll find new species of animal life," he told The Metro.
"I don't know if we're going to find any alien civilisations though."
Contrary to the book '20,000 leagues under the sea', by Jules Verne, in which divers reach depths of 111,120,000 meters, the pressure at 7,000 meters would be enough to crush a man.
For this reason the scientists are using specially designed remote dive vehicles called AutoSub6000s.
The first thing the team will search for will be volcanic vents, which will give an idea of the best place to look for life.
Only recently, similar volcanic vents were discovered deep in the Arctic Circle.