An aggregation of methane ice worms inhabiting a white methane hydrate. Studies suggest that these worms eat chemoautotrophic bacteria that are living off of chemicals in the hydrate. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).
The first remotely operated vehicle dive of the cruise was conducted today at site "BiloxiB" on the Biloxi salt dome. Sonar data collected here with our ship's multibeam system revealed water column anomalies believed to be active seeps, or areas where gas is percolating up from beneath the seafloor. Today's dive focused on exploring and ground-truthing these anomalies to gain a better understanding of what we are seeing in the sonar data. A variety of interesting seafloor habitats were imaged along the way, including this image of "iceworms" living in association with frozen methane hydrate.
