The Dark Frontier

“A brilliant scientist and storyteller, Jeffrey Marlow takes us on a page-turning descent into the deepest mysteries on the planet, revealing a world as strange, beautiful, and edifying as it is essential to our uncertain future. Though witness to the farthest reach of our destructive ways, Marlow leaves us with words of hope.”—Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea

“A fascinating, even moving, deep dive into the deepest of subjects. As Jeffery Marlow shows us, the ocean floor isn’t a bleak wasteland—it’s the largest part of our planet, teeming with life and with possibilities for a radically reimagined future. Marlow’s book shines a brilliant light on Earth’s crucial frontier.”—Jason Roberts, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Every Living Thing and A Sense of the World

“Dr. Jeffrey Marlow gives readers a front-row seat and a backstage pass to the vanguard of deep-sea science, at a time when this research has never been more exciting or vital. The Dark Frontier is a meticulous, wide-ranging, and riveting book, and an essential addition to the ocean canon.”—Susan Casey, New York Times bestselling author of The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean

“This gripping trip to the bottom of the ocean doesn’t just explore many of the otherworldly mysteries lurking in a lightless universe;, it is an illuminating peek into something deeper yet – —the nature of life itself.”—Dan Egan, New York Times bestselling author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

“Jeffrey Marlow goes deep—really deep—beneath the sea to explore a world we can’t see and can barely imagine. The Dark Frontier is at once an adventure story, a tale of scientific discovery, and a plea for preserving one of the world’s most fascinating and fragile environments.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction

“[A] moving debut exploration . . . Marlow’s fascination with underwater environments is palpable throughout, as he studies microbes that can exist by metabolizing methane, and discovers hidden ecosystems of strange fish, crustaceans, and worms . . . This is science writing at its finest.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“An eloquent scientist’s rare view into deep-ocean expeditions . . . Few people have plumbed the mysteries of the deep sea like Marlow, a Boston University biologist. A gifted writer whose prose leaps off the page, he takes the reader along on varied expeditions to research, mine, and map biodiversity throughout his career . . . In his telling, even the most staid, diplomatic meetings are riveting. His tales lend context and continuity to a fragmented picture of the unseeable seas. . . . Marlow’s tales of seafloor mountain ranges and the characters he encounters are delightful and emotive . . . His science is injected with feeling and perspective . . . A romantic, illuminating dive into the deep sea and the controversies of exploiting it.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review