Cloverfield and other deep-sea monsters

[D.B. Cooper]

Just watched the movie and it got me thinking about whether a creature of that size could live at the bottom of the ocean. Much of the deep ocean hasn't been explored or even glanced over, I'm told, but could such a beast actually sustain itself down there without us knowing? Now, whether or not it could drag itself onto land, and survive against massive military counterattack is rather beyond debate-no it could not, but the whole concept is interesting to think about.

Discuss.

[MaximiIian]

Probably not of that shape. It's physiology was very unrealistic for a deep-sea marine animal. Things like very large whales, giant squid, colossal squid, giant octopi, and huge sharks are indeed possible (and have been recorded), but their physical form is very specialized and unique for a deep marine environment. Something along the lines of Clover is...unlikely, to put it mildly.

[MrMofo]

yeah im thinking the physiology necessary to offset the pressures at those depths wouldn't grow to be something so large.

Plus weren't bits of the monster radioactive or something? (i havent watched it in a long time)

[Hookah Smoking Caterpiller]

I'm guessing that it would'nt have a large brain as due to the pressure it would have to have one massivley renforced skull, so a large brain would be unlikely?

[Tominokar]

I'm guessing that it would'nt have a large brain as due to the pressure it would have to have one massivley renforced skull, so a large brain would be unlikely?

Not really, giant squids have large brains and no skull at all. Pressure doesn't work like that on organisms, it's down to the blood pressure as well.

If anything that huge lived that deep, it wouldn't be vertabrate.

[Sphere]

Pressure differences are only a problem when there is a gas involved. Liquids are nearly incompressible, so no matter how deep you dive, a water-balloon is not going to crush. On the other hand anything filled with air will be compressed substainially as gases have a lot of space to condense.

On an interesting side note, no solid object can fail under uniform hydrostatic pressure because there are no shear forces, only normal forces.

[MrMofo]

not to mention nothing on the planet has ever grown that large. Correct me if im wrong, but that was increments larger than the biggest dinosaur or blue whale.

[Phalanx300]

Supposedly there is a big sea monster in the depths of the ocean. There was sound recorded which could've come only from a giant organic being, cloverfield was based on thatI believe. So it could exist, but as others said, not looking like that.

[Chukada1]

It wouldn't have arms, that's for sure. Plus, it would have to rely on a bacteria food chain, so it's can't exactly grow that big..

[Phalanx300]

It wouldn't have arms, that's for sure. Plus, it would have to rely on a bacteria food chain, so it's can't exactly grow that big..

Yet the recording says it was bigger then a whale. But the ocean holds many unknown secrets.

Who knows, it could be godzilla.

[MrMofo]

my money's on the kraken.

[Markas]

Wasn't the Cloverfield monster from outer space? It breathed air and so did the parasites so I assumed it crashed here or whatever...

[D.B. Cooper]

No it definitely came from the deep ocean. Some submarine device bumped into it and "woke it up". The monster later followed the submarine back to Manhattan.

[Markas]

No it definitely came from the deep ocean. Some submarine device bumped into it and "woke it up". The monster later followed the submarine back to Manhattan.

Where'd you get that from?:hmmm:

[Rapax]

No it definitely came from the deep ocean. Some submarine device bumped into it and "woke it up". The monster later followed the submarine back to Manhattan.

You're not suggesting that you actually got that from the movie, do you?

[D.B. Cooper]

You're not suggesting that you actually got that from the movie, do you?

Well it is the generally accepted theory. JJ Abrams said this in some commentary or documentary or interview, or something like that. Also, at the end of the movie you can see said satellite/submarine falling into the ocean.

[Rapax]

Submarines don't fall into the ocean from the sky I'm afraid.
I doubt they ever really had a real backstory for this, which I think was the whole point, to keep it mysterious.

[Zephyrus]

There was also images of a UFO crashing into the water in one of the vid flashbacks in the movie....

[MaximiIian]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_(creature)

Third paragraph, "Concept and Creation".

Goddard pointed out the lack of explanation in the film of the creature's origin was deliberate. Despite this in the final moments of the tape, after the explosion and just before the credits, the characters Beth and Rob are talking while on a ride. The camera time and date states April 27, 6:17pm and the camera is pointed out the window at a section of beach and ocean. You can see an object splash down, it comes in on the upper right and is very small, looks like a hair but the splash is unmistakably large. It impacts just to the left of the yacht in that scene. The date is previous to the events and implies a non-Earth origin. This allusion contradicts Abrams' description of the creature as a baby who has been underwater for thousands of years that emerges "confused, disoriented, and irritable."[12]

So...that might or might not be the actual explanation. It's fiction, so...whatev.

[Gary88]

a creature of that size would require physiology completely unknown to us because biomedical physics shows us that creatures of that size simply wouldn't be possible with recognized physical characteristics. Its because whilst mass increases by a factor of 3 bone/muscle strength is related to its cross sectional area so only increases by a factor of 2. A giant 10 times the size of a human would be relatively 10 times weaker in terms of muscle strength it would be like you walking round with 9 friends on your back, this is why tiny animals like fleas can leap such relatively long distances.

hope i explained that ok its been a while since i did any actual physics.