Schmidt Ocean Institute Launches New Research Vessel That Will Change the Face of Ocean Exploration

SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE LAUNCHES NEW RESEARCH VESSEL THAT WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION Founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt launch R/V Falkor (too), with an inaugural expedition, expanding capacity, capability, and science for ocean research and technology development globally. San Juan, Puerto Rico – Schmidt Ocean Institute launched today its newly refitted 110-meter global-class … 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

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

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

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