Architects of the Deep
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017. Download larger version (mp4, 112.8 MB).

One of the goals of the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition was to search for corals in deep waters of the Gulf, as these corals provide habitat for a diversity of organisms such as sponges, shrimp, worms, and more. By locating deep-sea coral communities, we are in a better position to understand and thus manage marine resources in the Gulf of Mexico.