September 18, 2021: Glass Sponge
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts. Download larger version (jpg, 430 KB).
A beautiful glass sponge in the family Euplectellidae observed during Dive 05 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. The dive took place on the western flank of the previously unexplored Rockaway Seamount, which is one of the northern- and western-most of the Corner Rise Seamounts. With a starting depth of nearly 4,200 meters (2.6 miles), this was one of the deepest dives ever conducted in this part of the Atlantic.