Seirios camera sled images Okeanos Explorer personnel and deck hands during recovery following the last dive. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).
Seirios camera sled images Okeanos Explorer personnel and deck hands during recovery following the last dive. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).
Dive 13 was conducted today, climbing a portion of the lower western wall of the Keathley Canyon. Starting at a depth of roughly 2035 meters, a sedimented seafloor with no outcrops persisted. Only one small rocky hardground was encountered during the dive. Despite the relatively featureless seafloor, a number of interesting animals and fascinating interactions were observed, including: sea pens, a variety of deep-sea corals and associates, sea stars predating on corals, a variety of sea cucumbers and fish (including an ipnops fish with photoreceptors on the top of its head instead of eyes), and sponges with a pair of amphipods trapped in their spicules.
