Today’s dive followed a shallow dive track along the northeastern wall of an intercanyon between Powell and Lydonia Canyons. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was on bottom at 1310 UTC at 655 meters. The dive track traversed similar sedimented terrain from start to finish. The soft sediment was punctuated by small to large rocks that were typically populated by flytrap anemones, sponges (yellow and white), hydroids, shrimp, squat lobsters, and fish (longfin hake and Sebastes sp.). Other fish observed included witch founder, black belly rose fish, goosefish, eelpout, rattails, synaphobranchid eels, skate, and a juvenile cf. Beryx. One unidentified fish with distinct dorsal and pectoral fins, with extremely elongate posterior region, was observed. Epifauna on the soft sediments was dominated by Hyalinoecia sp. (quill worms), small zoanthids?, Cancer sp. and Chaceon quinquedens crabs. Rocks included boulders with variety of sizes of gravel scattered around and a moat developed around periphery. Rounded rocks considered to be dropstones were observed throughout the dive.

In the water column, we observed midwater fish (Stomias sp. and myctophids), snipe eels, barracudina, squid (Brachioteuthis sp.), siphonophores, salps, amphipods, two types of ctenophores (beroid and lobate), and shrimp (including Sergestes sp.).

Notable observations included a possible pink flatworm (not observed on dives to date); Brachioteuthis mating; mating red crabs sharing a fish; and several other predation events, including a red crab eating a squid, an anemone catching a midwater fish and squid (got away), a Cancer crab eating a dead red crab, and a swordfish knocking over a red crab perched on a boulder. Only one piece of trash, tentatively identified as a sheet of metal, was observed on the dive.