Jeff Williams (ROV Co-Pilot), Karl McKletchie (ROV Pilot) and Nick Kraus (ROV Navigator) in the Control Room. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 192 KB).
Deep-sea Octopus
This octopus and several like it were observed for lengthy periods between ship moves, on numerous ROV dives. Once disturbed by the ROV, it exhibited various defense strategies before finally swimming away. Video courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Galápagos Rift Expedition 2011. Download (mp4, 36.7 MB)
More octopus
An octopus "dances" for the cameras during a dive exploring an area of the Galapagos Spreading Center in the vicinity of a plume that was discovered earlier in the expedition. Video courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Galápagos Rift Expedition 2011. Download (mp4, 9.4 MB)
At 6:30 p.m., Little Hercules and Seirios were safely back on board the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Today's dive explored an area of the Galapagos Spreading Center in the vicinity of a plume discovered on Leg I of the expedition. The rest of the evening is likely to be spent conducting tow-yo operations in a U-shape around the location. We hope this will help us better understand the variability of plumes in this area. A location for tomorrow's dive will be determined by what we find overnight.
