Leg Two, Open Ocean to Inner Sea
The expedition’s second leg focused on gathering video records of the life found in and around lower-oxygen zones using the ROV ROPOS.
The expedition’s second leg focused on gathering video records of the life found in and around lower-oxygen zones using the ROV ROPOS.
During the first leg of the Open Ocean to Inner Sea expedition, the Canadian research team collected basic oxygen and other measurements offshore of Vancouver Island.
AUV Sentry will be used at Hawaii’s underwater volcano, Loihi Seamount, whose base remains largely unexplored. The team will survey and sample the seamount to better understand the dispersion of hydrothermal fluids from Loihi to the Pacific Ocean.
The Mariana region is home to the Mariana subduction system. This November, scientists shed light on the Mariana back-arc spreading center looking for new sites of hydrothermal activity.
Research suggests that small-scale turbulence could play a large role in how the ocean absorbs heat, a key factor in the onset of El Niño events. In July, Falkor traveled to the central equatorial Pacific to give researchers a first view of this smaller scale turbulence.