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November 26, 2020: Glass Sponge

The zoom capabilities of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer’s cameras are impressive! This close look at a glass sponge, seen during a Deep Connections 2019 dive within Verrill Canyon off the coast of Halifax, Canada, clearly shows the sponge’s intricate structure. Hexactinellid – or glass – sponges have skeletons made of silica, which is the same material used to make glass; however, glass sponges are not glass, per se. Learn more in this ocean fact.

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep Connections 2019. Download larger version (jpg, 797 KB).

The zoom capabilities of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer’s cameras are impressive! This close look at a glass sponge, seen during a Deep Connections 2019 dive within Verrill Canyon off the coast of Halifax, Canada, clearly shows the sponge’s intricate structure. Hexactinellid – or glass – sponges have skeletons made of silica, which is the same material used to make glass; however, glass sponges are not glass, per se. Learn more in this ocean fact.