Biology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents
Some of the most striking features of the deep sea are the amazing oases of life found at sites of hydrothermal venting. Elsewhere in the deep ocean, there is a low density of animals due to the fact that food is less abundant with depth, and thus, there is not enough energy to sustain a … Continued
When a Plan Comes Together ~ Video Update Week 2
Origins and Life: Going deep to study Earth’s tiniest organisms
Traducción al español disponible a continuación Written by Marc A. Fontánez Ortiz The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth. It harbors a plethora of (bio)geochemical interactions, being the home to different life forms that range from shrimp to unicellular microorganisms. I am a geomicrobiologist who studies energy flow between water-rock-life interactions to understand … Continued
Starting the Expedition: Serpentinization on the Seafloor
Spanish Translation Below The origins of this expedition – “Searching for Serpentinization-Driven Hydrothermal Activity on Oceanic Core Complexes of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge” – go back to the year 2000, when a talented team of marine geologists and oceanographers were surveying and exploring an oceanic core complex with the submersible Alvin at the intersection of the … Continued
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
The Opening of the Gulf of California
Tectonic plates are in constant motion, slowly moving along the Earth’s mantle as hot magma circulates below. These slow-moving plates are responsible for the formation of the continents we know today as well as ocean basins. While most ocean basins take around 30 to 80 million years to form, the Gulf of California (GOC) formed … Continued
Designing the Future 2 – 4K ROV Highlights – Video Update
“Creating one new deep-sea instrument that can operate successfully in the field is hard enough to accomplish. This project took technology development to the next level and ultimately involved four different complex systems. I am proud to say after ten days at sea, these four pieces of equipment worked in concert with each other to … Continued
Applying Technologies – Video Update
“This cruise is the first science mission where we are applying those technologies to really try and tackle these questions about how can you more efficiently discover life in the ocean.” Take a look behind the scenes at the #DesigningTheFuture2 expedition and its exciting technologies.
Biodiverse Borderlands – 4K Highlights – Video Update
“Establishing ecological baselines in the deep sea allows us to track changes over time and better understand the consequences of human actions,” said Chief Scientist Dr. Lisa Levin, a professor of biological oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Check out some of the magnificent sights documented by ROV SuBastian during this expedition. The goal … Continued