New funding for children's book
Mari Heggernes Eilertsen from CDeepSea/BIO has been granted funding from the Research Council of Norway to develop a children's book “Worm Party in the Deep” (Makkfest i djupet), which communicates research-based knowledge about deep-sea ecosystems to readers ages 5–10.
Published:
The book is based on “worm forests” found around chemosynthetic environments such as hydrothermal vents and cold seeps in the Arctic deep sea. It shows how animals can live in complex communities under extreme environmental conditions. The title is inspired by the name of Mari's research project WormFEST (NFR FRIPRO) and plays on the remarkable density and diversity of deep-sea worm communities. They look as though they have gathered for a giant worm party!
The story is told through the eyes of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), giving readers insight into both scientific methods and scientific content (biodiversity and adaptation) and is richly illustrated by Tromsø based artist Jane Zimmerman.
The book will be written in Norwegian and English and publication is planned for 2027.
Research funding was granted by Norgesforskningsrådet (external link)/ Research Council of Norway (external link) through their Communication and Dissemination of Climate, Environment and Ocean Research call.
The work of the Centre for Deep Sea Research is supported by the Trond Mohn Foundation (external link) and UiB (grant # TMS2020TMT13).