Log Post: Traveling through Vents – Week 1 Update

“We do not fully understand how the animals who live on hydrothermal vents find them and come to the vents.” The #VentUnderworld team has embarked on an expedition to determine how animals are transported to hydrothermal vents and build communities. The team suspects that the answer does not solely lie in the waters above the … Continued

Log Post: Giant Worms on a Very Special Volcano

Traducción al español a continuación I come from Austria, a country in the middle of Europe that is landlocked but contains beautiful mountains, lakes, and rivers. Nevertheless, I have been drawn to the Ocean for as long as I can remember. I’d like to say that this is why I became a marine biologist, but … Continued

Log Post: Art & Science with Octopus Odyssey

The ocean has always been a primary source of study, inspiration, and a foundational element in my artistic practice. In May of 2021, I was introduced to Dr. Beth Orcutt, a senior research scientist who studies microbial life in the deep sea and is co-chief scientist of the Octopus Odyssey Expedition. This year, I was … Continued

Log Post: Octopus Odyssey – 4K ROV Highlights

The scenes documented on video during the Octopus Odyssey expedition are stunning and informative. Of course, octopus were the “stars of the show:” we documented octopus nurseries with hundreds of Muusoctopus species brooding viable eggs in low-temperature hydrothermal fluids, saw how octopus mothers protect and clean their eggs, as well as observed predators rapidly descending … Continued

Log Post: Los Colores de la Ciencia

English Translation Below El explorador llega a un sitio donde nunca ha habido presencia humana. Se recorre el terreno palmo a palmo, y la vida es asombrosa en sus formas, tan diferente a lo ya conocido… El pintor a bordo es requerido inmediatamente para empezar a retratar con sus materiales de arte las nuevas especies … Continued

Log Post: Faith in Independent Thinking – Science Story

“If I had to explain to an Extraterrestrial what life in my home planet is, I would never even mention a human – Life in my home planet is truly microbes living in an ocean of darkness.” It isn’t often we get to share a video containing deep-sea science, a total solar eclipse, heavy metal, … Continued

Log Post: Deep-Sea Exploration in Latin America

Traducción al español a continuación Have you ever been afraid of the dark? I remember that when I was little, I was always scared when my parents turned off the lights in my room because I thought there could be monsters in the darkness that would harm me. Today, it amazes me that living in … Continued

Log Post: Al País de Aguas Profundas – Week 2 Video Update

English translation below “Creo que la expedición es una gran oportunidad para que los costarricenses conozcamos mejor nuestro mar profundo, ya que realmente somos un país de mar profundo. La tercera parte de nuestro país está por debajo de los 3000 m y protegiendo este patrimonio que tenemos, pero que recién estamos conociendo, es extremadamente … Continued

Log Post: Todo está Conectado

Perspectivas sobre la conectividad del área de estudio, a nivel regional, entre la columna de agua y el fondo marino, implicaciones para la gestión e investigación. English Translation Below “Todo está conectado”…. Una frase muy trillada que aplica de manera perfecta para lo que sucede en el océano, un medio que obedece las leyes de … Continued

Log Post: Discovering New Species and Exploring Deep-sea Microbiomes

Traducción al español a continuación Ten to 30 million species are estimated to exist on our planet, yet only ~1 million of these have been formally described. These estimates do not include the vast majority of microbial life, let alone how microbes interact with animals. A major goal of scientific discovery is to understand not … Continued