After We Sample

An audience of hundreds – sometimes thousands – of people ashore watch the live-stream intensely as Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives and collects samples. Sometimes when collecting a sample, a researcher narrating the dive suggests that a sample might represent an undescribed (i.e., new-to-science) species. It can take years to formally describe a new species. … Continued

Keep On Venting – Ep. 3 – There’s a Whole Ecosystem?

“Hydrothermal vents and the dynamic ecosystems that live amid the darkness are vital to our beautiful planet and its cycles.” Explore geochemical and microbiological interactions, including chemosynthesis and symbiosis in final piece of this series. Come aboard Research Vessel Falkor and let SOI’s Science Communication intern Brittany Washington explain these wondrous and beautiful underwater features, … Continued

Keep On Venting – Ep. 2 – What is Chemosynthesis?

Hydrothermal vents are some of the most biologically active areas in the deep sea. Why? How can creatures not only survive, but *thrive* in areas with harsh chemicals, huge temperature differences, and crushing pressure? Come aboard Research Vessel Falkor and let SOI’s Science Communication intern Brittany Washington explain these wondrous and beautiful underwater features, as … Continued

Keep On Venting – Ep. 1 – A Hydrothermal What?

How do interactions between the Earth’s rocky crust, molten core, and liquid oceans create hydrothermal vents? What exactly are these vents, and why are they interesting to researchers all over the world? Come aboard Research Vessel Falkor and let SOI’s Science Communication intern Brittany Washington explain these wondrous and beautiful underwater features, as well as … Continued

Science Story – Microorganism Champions – Video Update

Microorganisms are the champions of changing the chemistry of ecosystems, and oftentimes they form exciting partnerships with one another to create new, unique types of chemistry that neither can do alone. Victoria Orphan is featured in the newest #PescaderoVentDiving2 expedition “Science Story,” explaining her background and passion in exploring seeps and hydrothermal vents. 

Climate Under Pressure – Video Premiere

This film premiered at the “Climate and the Deep Sea World” event and panel at The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. The film examines deep-sea exploration and climate, and features compelling footage from a number of expeditions that took place on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel Falkor. “There is an … Continued

Heat Flow and Vent Chemistry – Video Update

“The Auka Vent Field is relatively close (to the JaichMaa’ja’ag field), so we were expecting to find similar readings. We were surprised to find out that the heat decays more rapidly and there seems to be a relation between biodiverse spots and warmer areas, even without hydrothermal vents.” The #PescaderoVentDiving2 science team explains the goals … Continued

Science Story – Marine Geophysicist – Video Update

“Picture an avocado; its seed is the Earth’s core, the flesh is the mantle, and its thin skin is the Earth’s crust. That’s what I study, just this very thin layer. I measure the seafloor sediment’s temperature and I use the data to create models of what happens under the surface. It’s like trying to … Continued

Artist-At-Sea – Conversing with Rocks – Video Update

“I believe observation trigger the creative process. Science and art are both creative and require observation. They compliment each other as ways to ask questions about nature.” Artist-at-Sea Ale de la Puente discusses her methods, approach, and excitement in working with the #PescaderoVentDiving2 crew on board R/V Falkor. 

ROV Dives – Interdisciplinary Investigation of the Pescadero Basin

During a 2018 expedition aboard R/V Falkor, Drs. David Caress, Ron Spelz-Madero, Raquel Negrete-Aranda, and Victoria Orphan, alongside a team of interdisciplinary researchers and engineers, explored the recently discovered Auka Vent Field. The Auka Vent field is a series of hydrothermal vents located in Pescadero Basin, one of several small ocean basins in the tectonically active Gulf of … Continued