Journey into Midnight: Light and Life Below the Twilight Zone

Mission Summary

From June 8 - 22, a team of researchers will explore the water column in some of the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico in order to determine what happens to deep-sea animals when a very important constraint is taken away from them – that of light. They will make observations and collect samples for further study on the characterization of visual systems, bioluminescence, and fluorescence of organisms living below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), in the bathypelagic (midnight) zone.