Photos for Media Use
High-resolution photos available for media usage. These photos are freely available for use. We request that you:
1. Include the image credit (in italics below) with the image;
2. Include a link to http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06mexico/welcome.html in the news story.
alvin_launch_hires.jpg
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As ALVIN Launch Coordinator for this dive, Gavin Eppard kept a close eye on the submersible as it is gently lowered into the Gulf of Mexico.
Image courtesy of Expedition to the Deep Slope.
big_mussel_hires.jpg
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Scientists discovered several communities of football-size mussels, Bathymodiolus brooksi, at Mississippi Canyon 853 during ALVIN dive 4178. This is the biggest B. brooksi specimen ever collected. Upon close inspection, you may be able to see stains from the oil that is sometimes found in the sediment around seeps.
Image courtesy of Expedition to the Deep Slope.
community_hires.jpg
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This close-up of a seep community contains shrimp, mussels, and tubeworms typical of several of the sites that the expedition has visited.
Image courtesy of Ian MacDonald Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.
coral_hires.jpg
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Scientists spent several days searching for this elusive deep coral community. Strong currents and rough topography will create challenges for planned collections of the next two days. This image was taken with the ALVIN downward looking still camera.
Image courtesy of Expedition to the Deep Slope.
crab_hires.jpg
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Reminiscent of a spider in a web, scientists spotted this long-legged crab stretched out on a large soft coral during ALVIN dive 4190.
Image courtesy of Ian MacDonald Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.
gulfmap_hires.jpg
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A computer enhanced multibeam bathymetry map of the northwestern and northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf and slope. The continental slope surface reflects an array of intraslope basins, sites of thick accumulations of sediment, surrounded by higher relief features in the form of ridges and domes that are the expressions of salt masses in the shallow subsurface. Major lease areas established by the Minerals Management Service are superimposed on the image and important features like the Sigsbee Escarpment at the base of the slope are labeled.
Figure courtesy of Harry H. Roberts.
macro_hires.jpg
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A close-up of the undescribed Lamellibrachia sp. Several Alvinocaris muricola shrimp are also in view.
Image by Ian MacDonald, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
mark_hires.jpg
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Congratulations Mark! Following his first solo dive, ALVIN pilot Mark Spear is welcomed back onboard the ATLANTIS by fellow pilot Gavin Eppard with a nice bucket of cold Gulf of Mexico mud.
Image courtesy of Expedition to the Deep Slope.
seep_hires.jpg
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Downward looking view of a chemosynthetic seep community. This
photomosaic is a compilation of parts from approximately 20 different
still photos. Stephanie Lessard-Pilon, a graduate student at Penn State,
stitched these images together using special software and a lot of
patience. Once back at Penn State, scientists will use the images to
better understand seep communities.
Image courtesy of Expedition to the Deep Slope.
seeps_hires.jpg
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Bacterial mats, mussels, and tubeworms are common at cold seeps. This image from Atwater Valley site 340 in the Gulf of Mexico was captured with a downward-looking camera mounted on the ALVIN submersible.
Image by Stephanie Lessard-Pilon, Penn State University.
For More Information:
Fred Gorell
NOAA, Office of Ocean Exploration
Silver Spring, MD
Phone: (301) 713-9444 x181
email: Fred.Gorell@noaa.gov
