A brittlestar living on a paramuricid coral adjacent to a large white anemone. This community is on the edge of a carbonate rock in Mississippi Canyon lease block 297. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download larger version (jpg, 1.6 MB).
Today was the second day dedicated to exploring and characterizing deep coral ecosystems in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon site. The Mission Team carefully re-imaged corals initially photographed in October 2011. The purpose of revisiting this critical location in Mississippi Canyon lease block 297 was to determine change over time. Over the coming weeks and months, scientists will compare today's imagery with photographs from six months ago. Will they identify differences in the corals and the animals living on and among them?
