“Race Against Time” to Discover Ocean Life Prompts Launch of Global Initiative

A global alliance embarking on a race against time to discover and protect ocean life, before it’s too late. CONTACT: Carole Scott | carole@oceancensus.org | www.oceancensus.org The Ocean Census: The largest programme in history to discover life in our ocean has been unveiled with the ambitious target of finding at least 100,000 new marine species in the … Continued

Hydrothermal Vents of the Western Galápagos

Expedition dates: August 13 - September 10, 2023 In 1977, scientists at the Eastern Galápagos Spreading Center uncovered an ecosystem that changed our conception of life—hydrothermal vents. In the crushing darkness of the deep sea, life thrives on these vents as bacteria facilitate a whole food web by converting chemicals, rather than sunlight, into energy. … Continued

Assessing Deep Coral Health

Traducción al español disponible a continuación Written by Dr. Colleen Hansel Life relies on chemistry. For instance, chemical reactions allow animals (including humans) to extract energy from food, for plants to convert carbon dioxide to organic matter, and for fungi to degrade wood. Organisms also produce chemicals to increase the availability of nutrients, repair wounds, … Continued

ROV Dives – Health Diagnostics of Deep-Sea Coral

More about the research HERE. Dive 503 - Diving to Desecheo Ridge Date: April 18, 2023 Location: Desecheo Ridge, Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico Estimated Maximum Depth: 800 meters Work Completed: Explored the lower ridge benthic cover while transiting up the Desecheo Ridge. Focused on measurements and collections at ca. 150-200 m. Dive 504 - … Continued

Scientists Discover Three New Hydrothermal Vent Fields on Mid-Atlantic Ridge

An international team of scientists work together to rapidly find and explore large hydrothermal vents on the world’s longest mountain range. Video and photos available here. CONTACT: Carlie Wiener (808) 628-8666 cwiener@schmidtocean.org San Juan, Puerto Rico – Scientists have discovered three new hydrothermal vent fields over a 434-mile-long stretch of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during the … Continued

The Underworld of Hydrothermal Vents

Expedition dates: June 29 - July 28, 2023 An important mechanism in ocean ecology is dispersal—– tides, currents, winds, and waves move larvae from one place to another with the potential to create new communities. While dispersal is well studied and understood in shallow ecosystems, how dispersal works for many hydrothermal vent species is yet … Continued

4K Highlights ~ Video Update

It sounds like something out of a fairytale: scenes of fantastical creatures - some floating, others firmly entwined within towering mineral chimneys that billow underwater "smoke." These are the very real ecosystems around the hydrothermal vents we were lucky enough to explore during Schmidt Ocean Institute's latest expedition. ROV SuBastian documented wonders including astounding geological … Continued

Ocean Worlds Beyond Earth

One of my favorite memories of sailing with Schmidt Ocean Institute was in 2016 when we were using the ROV SuBastian to explore volcanoes of the Mariana Arc and Backarc in the western Pacific. We live-streamed seafloor video from this amazing sulfur-rich underwater volcano called Daikoku back to shore, and we kept getting the question … Continued