A group of scientists from the Middle Eastern Technical University (METU) in Ankara are preparing for a trip to Costa Rica to observe and study the effects of global warming. The team will sail 1,200 miles off the coast of Costa Rica and dive 2,500 meters into the Pacific Ocean.Offering information on the project, associate professor Mustafa Yücel of the METU Institute of Marine Science told the press that the project will be carried out in collaboration with the U.S.-based University of Delaware. The project's objective is to study the earth's crust under the Pacific Ocean using a titanium spherical submarine.During Yücel's exploration of the Pacific Ocean, Turkish academician Batuhan Yapan and the captain of the submarine will assist him. It will take an hour of freefall to reach 2,500 feet, where the team will spend approximately seven hours.Following the onsite research, the team of Turkish scientists will leave a globe behind to continue capturing ongoing data. Throughout the expedition, Yücel plans on sharing the photographs and videos taken during the research on METU's online blog.With the main goal of collecting live data about life under the ocean, Yücel and his team will also collect data about underwater volcanoes for a better understanding global climate change. Explaining that there are cracks in earth's crust under the ocean, Yücel said these cracks lead to the formation of volcanoes underwater."The part of the Pacific Ocean where we will conduct our research features a chain of volcanoes. Hence, hot water is coming out from earth's crust. The valuable mines containing useful metals, such as iron, gold and silver, are also located in that part of the ocean. We will also examine these mines as part of our study," said Yücel.Drawing attention to the fact that one-third of world's oceans are becoming deserts, Yücel stressed that the current amount of underwater life is alarmingly low.Yücel claims that the lack of iron in sea water is the reason the oceans are in such a poor state."For a lively ocean, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere should be absorbed. Since global warming has become a reality in our lives, the absorption of carbon dioxide has decreased. With this research, we will be able to detect the real reasons behind our dying oceans. We will calculate the amount of iron in the ocean to see whether the lack of iron in the seas is the main reason behind this ecological problem," he explained.Yücel also added that they will collect a substantial amount of data during the expedition and hopes the data will shed light on the situation which will lead to predictions for the future.