China scientists build new camera to help discover mystery creatures of the deep

Scientists in Zhejiang province are developing a camera to capture images of rarely seen or undiscovered creatures living in the deepest oceans.

The camera will be able to operate at a depth of about seven kilometres and is part of a series of research projects by mainland scientists to probe some of the least-explored areas on earth.

The deepest known point on the seabed - the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - is almost 11 kilometres deep. But even well before that depth, cameras struggle to operate in the complete darkness of the deep ocean, with the strongest lights barely able to illuminate beyond 10 metres.

A team at the Second Institute of Oceanography in Hangzhou is working on a camera that can take a series of three-dimensional images to build up a complete picture of sea creatures.

Two lenses mounted on different parts of the equipment would be able to pick out more detail than conventional underwater cameras, while taking accurate measurements of what was filmed, according to Professor Yang Junyi , a marine biologist heading the project.

"We are not building the camera to shoot 3D movies, so you probably won't be blown away by the visual effects of the final product. But it will be the most precise visual reconstruction ever of these elusive creatures," Yang said. "It may answer some of the biggest mysteries of the deep."