Banks Withdrawal
“I think the images we have now are going to astound some people when they see what’s down there.” That’s Wes Tunnell’s assessment of the...
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Schmidt Ocean Institute/Deep Sea Systems International
A Fine Final Dive
It was a fitting end to ROV operations for the expedition. Our final dive had the clearest water, the most spectacular scenes, and some of...
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Mark Schrope
Third Dimension’s the Charm
“Do you like it?” Asked Toshi Mikagawa, one of the ROV engineers from Deep Sea Systems International, and indeed I did. I was looking at...
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Mark Schrope
Fins to the Left, Fins to the Right
We finally found a major shipwreck. It’s in about 100 feet of water and it’s huge. I must say, though, the fact that it was...
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Mark Schrope
An Island in the Beam
“Oh, wow, Nathan are you getting this?” marine tech Jimbo Duncan called across the room to his counterpart. On the screen, the sonar system was...
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Mark Schrope
The Rise of the Rubble
Yesterday I joked about a mystery at Mysterious Bank, but today we came on something of a real mystery. It happened about midway through an...
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Mark Schrope
Dolphins, a Dream, and the Mysterious
“Let’s give them a little challenge,” said chief mate Niklas Pfaff. Then he gunned the engine on Falkor’s jet boat, Atreyu, and we sped away...
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Mark Schrope
Don’t Look Away, You Might Miss Something
I was sure we had found a shipwreck with a pile of gold coins fully visible, or at the very least a very large shark....
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Mark Schrope
Wee Little Bad Boys in the Deep
With no ROV dive, today was a time for filling in some gaps in the high-resolution seafloor mapping, and some sampling work launching equipment from...
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Schmidt Ocean Institute/ Deep Sea Systems International
Baker Bank Beauty and a Possible Trip to Hospital
“This is beautiful.” That was one of the first things I heard coming from the science control room this morning once the Global Explorer ROV...
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Mark Schrope
Ready to Dive
The plan is set. Tomorrow morning, the team from Deep Sea Systems International will launch their Global Explorer remotely operated vehicle (ROV) so we can...
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Mark Schrope
The Expedition Begins
Mapping the Depths, from Bad Mud to the Mysterious Bad Mud Bank. It sounds a bit ominous, if not especially attractive. That was our first...
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