Sunless Sea
The series of deep subterranean seas that lie under Magash/Sabine (Deneb 0316).
Description (Specifications)[edit]
Biological samples taken from the upper zones indicate that the Deep Sea is rich in life. But technical limitations prevent direct research and observation of these lifeforms, and hundreds of years after their discovery basic questions about this ecosystem are still largely unanswered. The Deep Sea is much hotter than normal oceans due to residual heat from the core, too hot to normally support the creation of proteins for life to propagate. Also high pressures exists at levels thousands of times greater than normally encountered by terrestrial life. Research into these lifeforms is controversial, as the limited information tends to cause local scientists to bend the rules of acceptable theory with bizarre experiments and hypotheses. In spite or perhaps because of this freewheeling "gunslinger" science, Magash has accumulated a significant biotech industry that is one of the largest in the Spinward Extents.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
Magash is a rocky cored world that formed with an enormous amount of water in its crust and mantle. Over time this water pooled and collected due to tidal attraction and tectonic flexing into massive water bodies that contain more aggregate liquid than most water worlds. The sea actually consists of several layers at various depths: a layer of hydrated minerals and saturated dirt and rock at a depth of four to seven hundred kilometers beneath the surface; An Artesian zone of deep vertical water tables trapped by impermeable rock or within natural fault lines between nine hundred and fifteen hundred kilometers; and the Deep Sea itself which surrounds the core, creating a four hundred kilometer blanket of high pressure water.
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- Peter Gray - Traveller TNE Mailing List Deneb Library Data: The Last Lexicon Part 2 published 8 April 2002