Expeditions | Deep Sea News

Hump Day Happiness: Dive into Deep-Sea Delights

Dr. M — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 01:13:47 +0000

You know what your hump day needs? Some absolute stunning photos of deep-sea animals. Look at this one. Look at that one. You gotta get yourself some of these deep-sea animals.

A team of scientists recently wrapped up a 40-day research voyage (jealous!) from the Salas y Gómez Ridge to Rapa Nui, commonly known as Easter Island. Situated off the coast of Chile, this ridge is teeming with biodiversity and is being considered for designation as a high-seas marine protected area. Led by Drs. Erin E. Easton from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Javier Sellanes from the Universidad Católica del Norte, the team meticulously studied 10 seamounts and two islands along the 2900-kilometer-long underwater mountain range. Their findings reveal distinct ecosystems on each seamount, including glass sponge gardens and deep coral reefs.

A Chaunax (or little Chaunny if you please, a member of the sea toad family) documented during Dive 664, a transect is located on the southwestern flank of Rapa Nui. The dive began at ~600 m depth and traveled upslope to ~200-300 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

Primnoid coral partially overgrown with two species of zoanthid coral observed during Dive 677 along a transect on the eastern flank of an unexplored and unregistered seamount within the national jurisdiction of Chile, east of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island. The seamount also lies within the Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park. The dive started at ~900 m depth and went upslope to the summit ~230 m. This seamount is located near the western-central extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A galaxy siphonophore observed during Dive 672 along a transect on the northern flank of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Motu Motiro Hiva is surrounded by the southwesternmost shallow coral reefs of the Polynesian Triangle. The dive started at ~1200 m depth and traveled upslope to ~190 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge off the coast of Chile. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A Diadema sea urchin documented during Dive 672 along a transect on the northern flank of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Motu Motiro Hiva is surrounded by the southwesternmost shallow coral reefs of the Polynesian Triangle. The dive started at ~1200 m depth and traveled upslope to ~190 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

Primnoid Coral with associates, including hermit crabs and squat lobsters during Dive 665, a transect on the western side of the seamount Moai, ~26 km west of Rapa Nui. The dive started at ~900 m depth and traveled upslope to the summit at ~600 m. This seamount is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A squat lobster in a coral garden during Dive 664 along a transect located on the southwestern flank of Rapa Nui. The dive began at ~600 m depth and traveled upslope to ~200-300 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A hydroid seen during Dive 663 along a transect located on the northern flank of Rapa Nui. The dive began at ~820 m depth and traveled upslope to ~250-300 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A deep-sea dragon fish, an apex predator with enormous jaws filled with fang-like teeth, seen during Dive 674 along a transect on the southeastern flank of an unexplored and unnamed seamount located within the national jurisdiction of Chilé, east of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. The dive started at ~800 m depth and traveled upslope to ~270 m. This island is located near the western-central extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

An octopus documented during Dive 674, an exploration transect on the southeastern flank of an unexplored and unnamed seamount located within the national jurisdiction of Chile, east of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. The dive started at ~800 m depth and traveled upslope to ~270 m. This island is located near the western-central extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A Chrysogorgia coral and squat lobster ducmented during Dive 672 along a transect on the northern flank of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. Motu Motiro Hiva is surrounded by the southwesternmost shallow coral reefs of the Polynesian triangle. The dive started at ~1200 m depth and traveled upslope to ~190 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

A Coronaster (a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae) documented during Dive 664, a transect on the southwestern flank Rapa Nui. The dive began at ~600 m depth and traveled upslope to ~200-300 m. The island is located near the western extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge of underwater mountains. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

The deepest-known photosynthesis-dependent Leptoseris coral documented on Dive 672, a transect on the northern flank of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island. The dive started at ~1200 m depth and traveled upslope to ~190 m. Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute CC BY-NC-SA

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The Video of Giant Isopods Eating an Alligator in the Deep Sea You Must Watch!

Dr. M — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 03:14:32 +0000

You may not realize it but the video below is the video you never knew you needed. But yeah you need it.

The video is the actual video from my research group’s dive with a remotely operated vehicle in the deep Gulf of Mexico. The background on all this alligatorfall project and why a bunch of scientists would sink an alligator in the first place is in our previous post. You can also read Atlas Obscura’s great write up on our work.

The post The Video of Giant Isopods Eating an Alligator in the Deep Sea You Must Watch! first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Experience the Life of the Deep Gulf of Mexico in 20 Videos

Dr. M — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 17:59:55 +0000

As we prepare for our 2019, Gulf of Mexico, Deep-Sea, Wood-Fall Collection, Research Cruise Spectacular from February 11th-24th, enjoy these videos from our 2017 expedition. Also follow us on Instagram and Twitter under hashtag #woodfall to keep updated on our upcoming cruise.

A brittle star demonstrates its unusual walking pattern. See this post for the science behind this walking.

Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish also known as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish or rabbit fish. In paleo-oceans, chimaeras were both diverse and abundant while today they are largely only found in the deep sea. While their closest living relatives are sharks, they last common ancestor was nearly 400 million years ago.

An unknown small black fish. Most of the species in the deep oceans have yet to be seen or even officially named by scientists.

Another unknown small black fish…of course I’m no ichthyologist.

A comb jelly dangles its long sticky tentacles searching for prey. The flickers of light are from cilia plates that lines its body and are reflecting light as opposed to bioluminescence.

A sea cucumber munches on mud lazily as two whip corals move gently in the current.

A deep-sea red crab throughs up a defensive posture against the ROV before finally retreating. Note the white barnacles attached on the shell of the crab.

A fast moving Giant Isopod tries to avoid the ROV. This is largest roly-poly on Earth! For reference, the laser points are 9 inches (22.86 cm) apart.

This glass sponge, a Venus’ Flower Basket, holds to commensal shrimp inside its structure.

Several fly-trap anemones are attached to a piece of a shipwreck. Animals that filter-feed out of the water often look for high perches to get up into stronger currents above the seafloor.

The unusual fish, Ipnops, a predator that feeds on molluscs and crustaceans in the sediment. The eyes are extremely modified into flat, cornea-like organs that cover most of the upper surface of the head. Ipnops are also hermaphrodites possessing simultaneously both female and male gonads in a single organ.

Purplebelly Skate known primarily from the deep Gulf of Mexico

The pelagic and gelatinous deep-sea cucumber, Enypniastes. You can see its intestinal track in yellow.

Slurping up the same Enypniastes with the ROV Hoover attachment. You can see here that the cucumber is quite small in comparison to the ROV arm.

Ignore the fact that we lost one of the lasers on the dive and enjoy this absolute unit of deep-sea cucumber.

The amazing tripod fish. Tripod fish, a sit-and-wait predator, seem to prefer being perche dup on their elongated fins rays in the tail and two pelvic fins. They face upstream with the pectoral finds turned toward forward with the fin rays resembling antenna dish. Indeed, it is a dish as fin rays are tactile organs.

A Giant Isopod almost swims into our benthic elevator.

Even at two kilometers deep and 200 kilometers offshore, there is evidence of human impact. Here a blue plastic bag wisps across the ocean floor like an amorphous deep-sea animal.

Aluminum cans are frequent feature of the deep oceans.

And another can.

The post Experience the Life of the Deep Gulf of Mexico in 20 Videos first appeared on Deep Sea News.

An Octopus Nursery Discovered on a Deep Underwater Mountain

Dr. M — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 20:52:52 +0000

A yellow sponge (Staurocalyptus sp. nov.) new to science, an orange basket star (Gorgonocephalus sp.) crawling on it, several white ruffle sponges (Farrea occa), and a new species of white-branched sponge (Asbestopluma sp. nov.) on the Davidson Seamount at a depth of 1316 meters. (Credit: NOAA/MBARI 2006)

Far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, three quarters of a mile deep, lies the peak of an underwater mountain. Rising 1.4 miles off the abyssal plains, Davidson Seamount, nearly 26 miles long and 8 miles wide, is one of the largest known seamounts in U.S. waters. Davidson contains an abundance of life including massive groves of large bubblegum corals and reefs of glass sponges. Life is so abundant at the seamount, we proposed nearly a decade ago that Davidson Seamount with its dense aggregations of invertebrates may serve as source of many species to nearby canyons and rocky outcrops off the California coast. Davidson may be a perfect habitat for many species allowing their populations to explode. This Davidson Seamount cradle then may serve as source of migrating individuals into other less perfect habitats nearby. This idea of Davidson as a biodiversity source was instrumental in getting Davidson added to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) in 2009.

Octopuses observed at the Davidson Seamount, an ocean habitat about 80 miles to the southwest of Monterey. (Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA)

A recent expedition by NOAA, MBNMS, and Nautilus, returned to Davidson Seamount. And is typical of Davidson delivered with a spectacular display of life. Over 1,000 individuals of the small sized octopus Muusoctopus robustus were caught on video hugging the rocks in a brooding position. It is unclear why these octopuses are using the seamount as a nursery. Higher currents around seamounts may bring more oxygenated waters. The dense aggregations of other animals may provide abundant prey. The crevasse, cracks, and rocky rubble of this old volcano may provide shelter from predators.

The post An Octopus Nursery Discovered on a Deep Underwater Mountain first appeared on Deep Sea News.

The Fantastical Beasts of the Deep Gulf of Mexico

Dr. M — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 02:17:40 +0000

I recently returned from nearly two weeks at sea with a motley and intrepid crew exploring the Gulf of Mexico almost a mile and half deep. You can read up on our adventures on our Reddit AMA. The main goal was to deploy nearly 200 wood falls on the deep-sea floor. The work, funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks to examine how marine organisms respond to changing food supplies as a result of climate change. Wood falls in the deep sea offer up nice little experimental systems in which to test ideas. The work was conducted with a remote operated vehicle and allowed us the opportunity to explore the amazing creatures found in the deep Gulf of Mexico. Below is both an amazing set of photos taken on the surface by the talented photographer Jason Bradley, part of the expedition, and a host photos taken by the scientists and ROV team with the 4K camera aboard Oceaneering’s Global Explorer.

The post The Fantastical Beasts of the Deep Gulf of Mexico first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Reddit AMA (Saturday May 27th): DSN on a boat, throwing wood in the ocean!

Holly Bik — Fri, 26 May 2017 12:37:09 +0000

UPDATE (5/27): Here’s our Reddit AMA link – ask us anything about deep-sea science! https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6dng31/i_am_a_marine_scientist_im_on_a_boat_right_now_in/

WE’RE ON A BOAT! That’s right, The Blogfather Dr. M and myself (Dr. Bik, Assistant Blogmaster?) are in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico AT THIS VERY MOMENT!

To celebrate this awesome scientific cruise, we’re running a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session Tomorrow, Saturday May 27th from 8AM – 8PM Central Standard Time (Louisiana, USA time zone).

Hi @reddit_AMA! Ask me anything this Sat. I’m currently on the ocean for a science research cruise studying the deep sea with a robot #AMA pic.twitter.com/dvkQ67VPx8

— Craig McClain, Ph.D. (@DrCraigMc) May 25, 2017

Why are we here? Well Dr. M has a nifty new NSF grant to research wood falls in the deep oceans; logs and whole trees that saturate with water and sink to the deep-sea floor. These wooden carcasses bring a rare commodity to the deep sea devoid of light and plants: food. On the seafloor, these wood falls are covered in unique marine invertebrates wholly adapted to eating wood.

As part of this work, Dr. M is also collecting sediment cores, which I’ll be using to isolate nematodes for environmental sequencing and genomics work.

But there is a whole team of people here on the boat, and you can ask them anything too! Our scientific cast is:

–Dr. Craig McClain, a deep-sea biologist, DSN Blogfather, and the Executive Director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON).
– Dr. Clif Nunnally (LUMCON) – Research Associate, Actual Person in Charge of the cruise
– Chase Landry (LUMCON/Nicholls State) – Undergraduate Researcher, Cajun Translator
– Dr. Virginia Schutte (LUMCON)- Media Officer, unfortunately a Morning Person
– Dr. Thomas Webb (U. of Sheffield) – Statistical Guru, “All the gear, no idear” (he’s British)
– Dr. Holly Bik (U. California Riverside) – Microbial Genomics and nematode taxonomy, bringing high fashion to the high seas
– River Dixon (U. South Carolina) – Undergraduate Researcher, has no idea what she signed up for
– Jason Bradley (Bradley Photographic) – Photographer, probably has kissed more sea animals than you
– Chase Lawson (Texas A&M) – Undergraduate Researcher, literally just spent 2 hours handling raw meat
– Dr. Alicia Caporaso (Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management) – Underwater Archaeologist, studies shipwrecks but can’t touch them

The post Reddit AMA (Saturday May 27th): DSN on a boat, throwing wood in the ocean! first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Look at These Amazing Deep-Sea Creatures from the Remote Pacific Right Now

Dr. M — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 19:46:10 +0000

View the story “Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas” on Storify

The post Look at These Amazing Deep-Sea Creatures from the Remote Pacific Right Now first appeared on Deep Sea News.

New video shows the hidden world under Antarctica’s ice

RR Helm — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 19:51:56 +0000

Screen capture of life under the ice. Video below.

I’m constantly amazed by the beauty and diversity of life under Antarctica’s ice. Below is one of the best videos I’ve seen of this stunning natural wonder. The water is below freezing, at a heart-stopping -1.5°C (29.3°F)*, a meter of ice covers the surface for much of the year, and the whole ecosystem is plunged into Antarctica’s winter darkness for months at a time. Yet, look at this beauty. Look at all the creatures calling this alien world home. Watching this, I can’t help but wonder about all the mysterious places that we haven’t been. From the deepest depths under polar ice, to the watery moons of other planets. If this is what we’re finding so far, what else might be out there?

The original article can be found at: http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2016/rare-glimpse-into-antarctic-underwater-world

Transcript of video:

We’re diving under the sea ice in O’Brien Bay, south of Casey research station in eastern Antarctica.

This is a thriving, colorful world filled with sponges, sea cucumbers, sea spiders, worms, algae and starfish. Here we are at 30 m below the surface, where the water temperature is a chilly −1.5[°C] year round, and the sea is covered by ice that is a meter and a half thick for more than 10 months of the year.

This ice provides protection from Antarctica’s harsh weather conditions, and a stable marine environment that allows biodiversity to flourish. This important biodiversity is the focus of our research into the effects of climate change and ocean acidification.

Here at the Australian Antarctic Division, we’re working hard to ensure the continent remains valued, protected and understood.

***

*The salt in seawater lowers the freezing temperature, and prevents the water from turning to ice at 0°C (32°F), much the same way road salt melts the ice on roadways.

The post New video shows the hidden world under Antarctica’s ice first appeared on Deep Sea News.

My Other Ride is the Belafonte

Alex Warneke — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 21:13:02 +0000

You know when you have too much time on a Sunday. (Or you actually don’t, but you spend too much time on something absolutely unproductive…but you secretly love it.) Well, in my semi-productive Sunday Funday state, I have been playing with the infographics platform, Piktochart. Soon I hope to actually be creating serious scicomm data visuals, but for today….

The post My Other Ride is the Belafonte first appeared on Deep Sea News.

These are a few of my favorite species: Paulasterias mcclaini “McClain’s 6-armed fleshy star”

Dr. M — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 19:19:25 +0000

Image from Mah et al. (2015)

Today is a very exciting day. Indeed, today is one of the best days ever! The next step in my evil science plans for total world domination to unlocking science achievement level 10 is now complete. Thanks to Chris Mah (@echinoblog), one of the world’s leading experts on starfish, there is now a species named after me. I may die but my species, Paulasterias mcclaini, will live on forever. BWAHAHAHAHAAHA.

Why would Dr. Mah name the coolest species of starfish ever after me? Well I’ve agreed to not let out details about his secret superhero identity in the arrangement. Kidding. Along with David Clague, I invited Chris to join us an expedition in 2009 to visit the Northeast Pacific of Washington and Oregon aboard the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Western Flyer.

Image from Mah et al. (2015)

I don’t jest when I say this coolest species of starfish ever. Others may raise an eyebrow to such a statement but there are many reasons.

1. The species is named after me.

2. The species is named after me.

3. Paulasterias mcclaini along with Paulasterias tyleri are part of a brand new family of starfish, Paulasteriidae, the first new family erected in this group of starfish, Forcipulatacea, since the 1800’s. See the evolutionary tree below. You can see these two new species are quite unique genetically from others in the group.

4. The other species and family is named after deep-sea biologist Paul Tyler. Paul’s contributions to deep-sea science are wide spread, novel, and significant. Paul, along with John Gage, literally wrote the book on deep-sea biology. I studied and reread the book many times over years. It has served as inspiration to me and countless others. I also have another important connection with Paul. Years ago my first submersible dive was with him in Harbor Branch’s Sealink. Needless to say I’m in fantastic company.

5. Despite echinoderms being a major player in most of the deep sea, no members of been collected as primary members of hydrothermal vent settings. P. mcclaini and P. tyleri are the found either near vents or in proximity.

6. Number 6…well it’s six armed. Five-arm starfish need to learn how to represent.

7. P. mcclaini don’t give a damn. It’s found on rock, mud, pillow lava, vent chimney fragments, and even hydrothermally altered clays interspersed with bacterial mats.

8. P. mcclaini don’t like the heat. It’s not found actually on vents where it’s hot and toxic. This starfish doesn’t need that kind of subprime real estate.

9. Especially on the larger specimens this bad boy starfish has thick, fleshy skin. Indeed, the body is covered by a layer of fleshy, spongy tissue that obscures the plates comprising the body. I realize this sounded cooler before I wrote it down.

10. Better yet, this starfish is armored and ready for battle. Spinelets cover the entire body.

11. Finally, P. mcclaini might be set on total global domination. Chris Mah sates, “A six-rayed pink species with inflated arms has been observed by the Okeanos Explorer on two ROV imaging expeditions, in the North Atlantic (August 2013) and in the Gulf of Mexico (April 2014). This species is possibly identified as Ampheraster alaminos; however, it shows superficially similar body colour and shape to P. mcclaini gen. et sp. nov. “

Mah, C., Linse, K., Copley, J., Marsh, L., Rogers, A., Clague, D. and Foltz, D. (2015), Description of a new family, new genus, and two new species of deep-sea Forcipulatacea (Asteroidea), including the first known sea star from hydrothermal vent habitats. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 174: 93–113. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12229

The post These are a few of my favorite species: Paulasterias mcclaini “McClain’s 6-armed fleshy star” first appeared on Deep Sea News.