Photo & Video Log
This page contain photos and videos taken during the
Submarine Ring of Fire 2012 expedition. Click on any image to view
a larger version and for additional information.
If a movie camera icon is
present, a video can be viewed by clicking on the image. Multiple
video formats are available on the linked pages. If a Podcast icon
is
present, a video or audio file is available for download or you can subscribe to the RSS Podcast Feed.
If a slideshow icon is
present, a visual log of exploration images can be viewed. You can scroll
through them one by one, or select the play button for an automatic slideshow.
(HR) = "High Resolution" images available.

Images
September 26 Log
The ROV Quest 4000 rises out of the water on its last dive of the Submarine Ring of Fire NE Lau Basin 2012 Expedition. (HD)
September 26 Log
Submarine Ring of Fire NE Lau Basin 2012 Expedition Team on the bow of the R/V Roger Revelle. (HD)
September 25 Log
ROV pilots work from video science lab to communicate with pilots in ROV control van on the deck of the R/V Roger Revelle. (HD)
September 25 Log
“Wow!” is the word at the 2012 USA Science and Technology Festival in Washington, DC. (HD)
September 24 Log
Ha’amonga ‘a Maui, a stone trilith built in the 13th century in the north of the island of Tongatapu. (HD)
September 23 Log
Side view of the N. Mata volcanoes at 2x vertical resolution. Mata Tolu is the third from the right. (HD)
September 23 Log
A huge (>1cm long) crystal of the mineral clinopyroxene from a very fresh volcanic rock sample. (HD)
September 22 Log
Jets of sulfur shooting out from holes in the sediment-covered seafloor at Niua North. (HD)
September 21 Log
A scale worm, only found at hydrothermal vent communities, imaged by the Quest 4000 at West Mata. (HD)
September 21 Log
A large crab of the genus, Paralomis, crawls on the volcanic sediment and rock at West Mata. (HD)
September 20 Log
Scientist on board R/V Roger Revelle extracts water from one of the sample bottles in the CTD rosette. (HD)
September 20 Log
Scientists in computer lab on board the R/V Roger Revelle examine multibeam and CTD data. (HD)
September 20 Log
Barnacles and other vent animals were the first indicators that we were getting close to high-temperature vents. (HD)
September 20 Log
A sulfide chimney with lower-temperature venting on the right is colonized by a thick coating of vent barnacles. (HD)
September 19 Log
The Quest 4000 remotely operated vehicle being deployed off the stern of the R/V Roger Revelle. (HD)
September 19 Log
The Quest 4000 remotely operated vehicle collecting biological samples with suction sampler. (HD)
September 19 Log
Imagery of a hydrothermal vent chimney with snails taken by the Quest 4000 remotely operated vehicle in the NE Lau Basin. (HD)
September 18 Log
Black smoke from the top of a chimney is carried “downwind” by the strong current in the vent field. (HD)
September 18 Log
At the Adelaide Spires vent field 20 or more active chimneys are so close they have grown together. (HD)
September 17 Log
Lowering the buoy attached to the mooring as the hydrophone and other instrumentation near W. Mata is recovered. (HD)
September 16 Log
Map of four of the seven N. Mata Volcanoes. Mata Ua, location of our dive is noted. (HD)
September 15 Log
A hot vent (255 degrees C) near the top of a 38-m-high sulfide chimney in the Loloa Kakai vent field. (HD)
September 14 Log
Volcano O, a huge caldera in the NE Lau basin. Image looks toward the north, 2 times vertically exaggerated. (HD)
September 13 Log
Large chimneys discovered at Fonualei Rift. These spires formed close to each other at a depth of 1,555 m. (HD)
September 12 Log
“Texas Scoop” held by the manipulator claw of Quest 4000 while scooping up bacterial mats at Vai Lili.
September 11 Log
The University of Bremen-based Quest 4000 ROV team lowers the vehicle over the stern of the R/V Revelle.
September 10 Log
The University of Bremen-based Quest 4000 ROV team prepares the vehicle for its first dive.
September 10 Log
Special syringe that will be held and triggered by the manipulator claw of Quest 4000 to collect sediment samples for microbes at Vai Lili.
September 9 Log
The Fijian and U.S. flags fly high atop the mast of the R/V Roger Revelle while in port in Suva, Fiji.
September 9 Log
The U.S. Ambassador joins scientists the ship’s captain and students from the University of the South Pacific on the R/V Revelle.
Daily Updates
Dense concentrations of shrimp, many of which were gravid (egg bearing) at West Mata. (HD)
Daily Updates
Scientists and crew on starboard side of R/V Roger Revelle standing by to recover the buoy and mooring. (HD)
Daily Updates
We have at least three targets in the northern Matas which are named consecutively from south to north. (HD)
Daily Updates
Scientists map a new underwater caldera, dubbed First Volcano, discovered using multibeam sonar.
Daily Updates
Orange material, which is iron oxide encrusted microbial mats and minerals, with a soft coral visible in the distance.
Pharmacology
Did you know? Molecular structures of some mainstay drugs – directly isolated, or based on, microbial natural products. (HR)
Pharmacology
Laboratory cultures of deep-sea vent microbes: isolation and purification of organisms. (HR)
Microbiology
Microbial mats coated in white sulfate material were observed and sampled at several vent sites at West Mata in 2009. (HR)
Microbiology
The orangish-brown material is iron oxide encrusted microbial mats, often observed at low-temperature hydrothermal vents. (HR)
Microbiology
The grayish black material is manganese oxide encrusted microbial mats and minerals. (HR)
Submarine Volcanoes
The cooled "pillow" lava seen here forms when eruptions spread at relatively low rates. (HR)
Mission Plan
The inset in the top left shows the SRoF’12 - NE Lau basin proposed remotely operated vehicle dive sites and expedition track. (HR)
Mission Plan
This illustration shows the Pacific plate in the east colliding with the Indo-Australian plate in the west. (HR)
Mission Plan
The Quest 4000 remotely operated vehicle will be utilized on the SRoF’12 – NE Lau expedition. (HR)