would the ocean be deeper if there were no sponges in it?
470554
I believe so.   That has to be the funniest question i've seen.   There is only one way to find out.  If we can get enough people. Let's get rid of the the sponges
743650
Abyssal planes are created because sediment buries the otherwise rugged topography of the ocean crust.  This sediment is transported largely by things called turbidity currents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbidity_current).  The Atlantic basin is ringed primarily by passive continental margins which allow these currents to transport the sediments well out into the basins.  However, the Pacific ocean is ringed primarily by subduction zones.  Subduction zones are usually marked by features that we call deep ocean trenches.  These trenches are the deepest features of the ocean basins.  As turbidity currents come off the continental margins in the Pacific, they usually continue down into the trenches where they become trapped.  Therefore, the sediment they carry does no make it out into the Pacific basin.  This is why there are fewer abyssal plains in the Pacific than there are in the Atlantic.
956167
yes but you you would have to make sure that the water pressure is not too high so only on shallowish sea beds and it would be dangerous if the structure did fail it's bye bye to everyone.\nWe have made air tight structures before (eg space craft and submarines) so its possible just not practical.
1165953
"the Pacific Ocean has the greatest\naverage depth -- 12,925 feet" - http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen99/gen99058.htm
385816
The volume taken up by sponges is so small, there would be no discernible effect- any effect at all would cause be a minuscule drop in the water level.
351457
Well hypothetically, if something were to happen...say aliens came down & sucked up the oceans... (LOL)\n\n1.)Weather...the weather is greatly affected by the oceans. Most of the moisture that precipatates as rain evaporated from the oceans. So you are looking at LITTLE to NO RAIN! That should tell you what would happen to life. We would be in major trouble! Also the ocean currents help control climates in places in the higher latitudes such as England & the rest of northern Europe. Warm water currents help make these latitudes warm enough to be habitable. No ocean means no current.\n\n2.) No more flounder, crabs, oysters, scallops, or any other yummy seafood! The only benefit I see from this is that jellyfish would become extinct. But since we would too I guess it wouldn't really matter anyways. LOL.
697036
Sorry, I hate correcting people, but cnidarians aren't sponges.\n\nSponges are of the phylum porifera.\nCnidarians are things like coral and jellyfish.\n\nSponges have lots of holes.\n\nThey have loads of ostia, which are the small holes all around it, where water goes in to the sponge.\nDepending on the species, they may have 1 to 100s of osculums, which are the larger holes at the top where the water comes out.
85682
Sponges (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear") are animals of the phylum Porifera. They are primitive, sessile, mostly marine, waterdwelling filter feeders that pump water through their matrix to filter out particulates of food matter. Sponges are among the simplest of animals. With no true tissues (parazoa), they lack muscles, nerves, and internal organs. Their similarity to colonial choanoflagellates shows the probable evolutionary jump from unicellular to multicellular organisms. There are over 5,000 modern species of sponges known, and they can be found attached to surfaces anywhere from the intertidal zone to as deep as 8,500 m (29,000 feet) or further. Though the fossil record of sponges dates back to the Precambrian era, new species are still commonly discovered.\n\nThe structure of a sponge is simple: it is shaped like a tube, with one end stuck to a rock or other object and an open end, the osculum, open to the environment. The spongocoel, or interior of the sponge, is composed of walls perforated with microscopic pores that allow water to flow through the spongocoel.
1055667
It would still be at sea level.
896513
Sponges and porifera.
1046721
Drilling into the crust can not possibly affect the internal temp of the earth. We can NOT possibly dig deeper than that. easy. Next question.
654856
I've been teaching Marine Bio for the last few years and I always tell my students I hope they're out there but we may never know.  The ocean is so huge that the depths can hold onto secrets no matter how hard we try to uncover them.
166753
its the deepest point on earth !! Actually under sea
1118641
The oceans and all the water in them only cover a small slice of the earth's crust.  What do you call the stuff under the oceans?  There is still a thinner crust under the oceans.  "The Earth" is the planet, which carries large bodies of water on it.  Everything under the crust is still called earth, too.
49628
No it would be shallower. My approximation is that it would be 3 quadrillionths of an inch (3 x 10^-15 inches) shallower, with an (error of +/- 3 ) if all the sponges were removed.
906851
why not get a pipe from the bottom of the ocean to space and pump water into space to save the sea level rising. a few boats aint gonna help
308015
Short answer: nothing would happen.\n\nLonger answer:  Think of it like this.  The oceans make up 2/3rds of the surface area of the planet, approximately.  They are much, much deeper than tall buildings, trees, or even mountains.  Also think about water displacement- the volume of water that something displaces is equal to its own volume.\n\nRising sea levels are caused, mostly, by melting polar ice caps.  So how big are these ice caps and how much is melting?  The ice caps cover the Arctic (the size of a major continent) and most of Antarctica, which together is probably the size of two major continents.  Worst case scenario- most of it melts.  Let's be optimistic- 10%.  Can you really imagine the boats that we have adding up to 10% the volume of an entire continent, let alone two?  No, it's ridiculous.  A mountain or two, sure, plausible, but something the size of Texas?  No.  Absolutely not.