This close-up image of a crab on a deepwater coral is a frame grab from the ROV high definition video camera.

This close-up image of a crab on a deepwater coral is a frame grab from the ROV high definition video camera. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, INDEX-SATAL 2010. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).

Dive 6: Crab & Coral
July 5, 2010

Today we completed our first ROV dive in the Northeast portion of the INDEX-SATAL 2010 area of operations. Our launch location was 5º 22.638'N 126º 46.016’E. The ROV reached the seafloor at 2725m and proceeded to climb the slope of a ridge-like feature that peaked at approximately 2600m. The seafloor was covered mostly with fine-grained pelagic sediment. The bottom ranged between mostly sediment with sparse rocky outcrops to steep slopes of broken pillows and talus. Epifauna were generally sparse but we imaged a number of hexactinellid sponges, sea whips, sea stars, some fish, and a variety of corals and sea lillies. We also encountered what appeared to be a very long sea cucumber that was making some interesting tracks in the sediment in search of food. In comparison to previous dives, we noticed fewer crabs and shrimp, but many more sponges. The top of the summit ridge did not yield much different from what we saw during our ridge ascent.