Abundant Life Found on Seamounts Off Chile’s Coast
An international group of scientists, led by Dr. Javier Sellanes of the Universidad Católica del Norte, may have discovered more than 100 new species living on seamounts off the coast of Chile. The recent Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition resulted in finding deep-sea corals, glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, squat lobsters, and other species likely new to science.The team explored seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge, both inside and outside Chile’s jurisdiction, to collect data that could support the designation of an international high-seas marine protected area.
Jim McNeill is Leading Earth’s Citizen Warriors Across the Sea
help but think about the stories that inspire me, of sailors getting in one of these wooden vessels and sailing as far north as they possibly could,” says McNeill from the SV Linden, Ocean Warrior’s three-masted schooner, while sailing north past Svalbard during September’s Foundation Expedition. “It was all about endeavor…and reaching the North Pole, ultimately, that was the goal. It was the goal for glory! I’ve never been motivated by glory,” he chuckled, “but by finding out exactly what’s happening to this ocean all over.”McNeill, former scientist
Voyis Provides Subsea Tech for Galápagos Coral Expedition
Canadian underwater technology company Voyis has worked on a scientific expedition with Memorial University of Newfoundland in the Galápagos Islands, exploring and documenting the enigmatic world of cold-water coral ecosystem.The expedition, led by Chief Scientist Katleen Robert, was funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, and also included the participation of the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park.The Galápagos Islands, renowned for their unique biodiversity, are home to a multitude of cold-water corals, including those residing in vertical habitats.Taking
RRS Sir David Attenborough Begins Research Mission in the Southern Ocean
Scientists aboard Britain's high-tech polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough are headed to the Weddell Sea to investigate how carbon dioxide moves and transforms in the Southern Ocean.The ship departed Tuesday from Punta Arenas, Chile for the 30-day scientific expedition.As the carbon in the seawater rises to the surface near Antarctica, it interacts with the atmosphere, ice, and microscopic plants and animals, called phytoplankton and zooplankton, near the ocean surface, before descending to the ocean depths. By understanding more about this process, the researchers hope to improve
DISCOVERY: High-Res Mapping Tech Helps Find New Hydrothermal Vent Field
Ocean, off the Western Galápagos Islands, utilizing state-of-the-art mapping technologies not often used in scientific exploration. The discovery marks the second hydrothermal vent field in the Ocean around the Galapagos Islands found by scientific teams on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition this year.During the expedition, led by Dr. John Jamieson of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, researchers attached two high-resolution mapping technologies to an ROV; an M3 Sonar and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (InSAS). The technologies were used in tandem to create highly
Massive Seamount Discovered in Waters Off Guatemala
Seafloor mapping during a Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition has revealed an underwater mountain twice as high as the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in international waters off Guatemala.The 1,600-meter (5,249-foot) seamount covers 14 square kilometers and sits 2,400 meters below sea level. Using the EM124 multibeam echosounder on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s exploration and research vessel Falkor (too), the seafloor feature was discovered 84 nautical miles outside the Guatemalan Exclusive Economic Zone during a six-day crossing this summer from Puntarenas, Costa Rica, towards
OET Testing New ROV Cameras for 3D Model Making
On October 22, the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) launched a 14-day expedition aboard exploration vessel Nautilus to survey some of the most complex deep-sea geology around the Main Hawaiian Islands. The main purpose of the expedition is to test a new widefield camera array mounted on remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Footage from this system will then be used to create near real-time exciting applications for marine research and outreach. High-resolution video and sonar data collected on this mission will be used to construct three-dimensional models of each site using emerging tools developed by the
MTR100: Underwater Cameras, Lights and Ocean Landers
pan-and-tilt. Vehicles such as ROVs and AUVs change views using the mobility of the vehicle itself. Landers can be made to pirouette on the seafloor, rotating up to 720°, to capture an entire panorama of its landing site. This was dramatically shown during James Cameron’s DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Expedition with DOV MIKE in the Sirena Deep of the Mariana Trench in 2012.ExperimentationLandereans can inexpensively explore camera systems by building their own. The path to discovery and understanding can begin with a simple system based on a board camera or POV (Point-of-view)/Action camera, such as a
MTR100: Subsea Batteries
is also continually improving the energy density of its systems. Most recently, that has involved a new module design, but he is also keeping an eye on the developments in the electric vehicle market and exploring new battery chemistries.DeepSea’s SeaBattery in use on one of the Five Deeps Expedition landers. Credit: © Caladan Oceanic, LLC.One of A.G.O. Environmental Electronics’s latest projects involved designing a set of large battery packs to supply 172V with 21Ah capacity at up to 3,000m depth for subsea technology company Envirex’s SWIFT project. The system was designed