Question from Elizabeth: Could you see any animals in the salt lake or was it too salty?
The Blue Planet Team: There are a large variety of different animals trapped and preserved in the salty grave.
Question from Nicola Pye: Did you take specimens up to the surface for the scientists to look at?
The Blue Planet Team: The scientists we were working with collect a large number of samples for detailed examination - impossible in situ.
Question from Richard Whitehouse1: Was anything filmed around the UK?
The Blue Planet Team: Not for the deep ocean show, but later in the series, the Seasonal Seas programme does feature waters around the UK eg lobsters.
Question from Joanna Hanes: Did you film the sperm whales in New Zealand?
The Blue Planet Team: No they were filmed in the Azores.
Question from mark bailey: Have you been attacked by any of the creatures you filmed?
The Blue Planet Team: No we had some close encounters with sharks but the skill is knowing when to get out of the water.
Question from Killer: What do the creatures have to do so they don't implode?
The Blue Planet Team: Deep sea creatures have soft floppy bodies which are easily compressed and they have no air-filled spaces in their bodies.
Question from Emily Herbert: What was the largest and smallest creatures you saw down there?
The Blue Planet Team: The largest would be the six-gilled shark and the smallest copepods (a small crustacean).
Question from Nathan Wren: People believe that blue whales dive down to court and breed. Did you see any blue whales that deep down?
The Blue Planet Team: No we didn't. It's an interesting idea though.
Question from Dark Waters: You're the series producer, are you also a marine biologist or scientist?
The Blue Planet Team: Alastair: I did a degree in zoology but didn't specialise in marine biology.
Question from Daisy Thompson: What causes the underwater lake in the Gulf of Mexico?
The Blue Planet Team: It's made of super-salty water which is heavier than the surrounding sea so it sinks to the bottom and forms a lake.
Question from Tom Edge: Did you have a plan of what you wanted to see for each episode or was that decided in the editing room?
The Blue Planet Team: We spent almost 2 years researching the stories before we started filming, and throughout filming, worked to a tight script.
Question from Tony Beach: What would happen if a deep sea shark surfaced?
The Blue Planet Team: They do from time to time, without any ill effects.
Question from Kirsten Sprinks: Has there been one particular highlight?
The Blue Planet Team: Alastair: For me sitting among half a million albatrosses in the south Atlantic.
The Blue Planet Team: Penny: Seeing my first humpback whale up close.
Question from Kathy de: Who named the dumbo octopus and what is it's real name?
The Blue Planet Team: Other dumbo octopus species have been seen before and scientists who first saw them gave them their nickname. This particular species is a Grimpoteuthis.
Question from Jimmy Tarbuck: How long have you had the technology to go so far down?
The Blue Planet Team: Alvin was built in the 60s, the Johnson's sea link in the 70s.
Question from Andy Strachan: Any plans to film those trenches?
The Blue Planet Team: We have plans to do a live broadcast from the deep ocean next year on BBC 1. And hope to broadcast from the trenches.
Question from Brett Hanmer: Which country is at the forefront of deep water research?
The Blue Planet Team: Probably the USA.
Question from Alex1: How did you get into producing?
The Blue Planet Team: Alastair: After a degree in zoology, I started as a researcher and worked my way up the ladder.
Question from Rachael Macleod: How can i find out more, eg via the internet?
BBC Host: For more information on The Blue Planet series visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/blueplanet/
Question from Ricahrd Steane: I note that David Richard has been using scientific names in contrast to previous series. Is this a deliberate decision?
The Blue Planet Team: That's simply because most of the animals in the deep ocean do not have common names.
Question from Lynne Gordon: How much film do we see and how much is on the cutting room floor?
The Blue Planet Team: Probably just 1% of the film we shoot is broadcast.
Question from David Price: Where does the oxygen come from that sustains the large fish at depth?
The Blue Planet Team: The surface - it diffuses down having been created by photosynthesis in the shallows.
Question from Rachael Macleod: How many programmes are there in the series?
The Blue Planet Team: There are eight.
Question from Nathan Wren Penny: Is your P.H.D in marine biology?
The Blue Planet Team: Yes it is. I studied grey seals in Scotland.
Question from Kim Ingram: What happens to the rest of the film which ends up on the cutting room floor?
The Blue Planet Team: It's kept here in Bristol in a large library and some of it is used in other programmes - eg children's programmes.
Question from Shahram Abdi: What has been the deepest depth that human being has been?
The Blue Planet Team: In the 60s, Picard and Walsh reached the deepest point in the oceans - the Marianas trench - at just over 11,000 metres. No one has been back since.
BBC Host: Here is Alastair Fothergill and Dr Penny Allen with the final word.
The Blue Planet Team: Thank you for joining us and keep watching!
|
|
Suggest a Star or Expert to answer your questions