Cranchiid squid observed during the Okeanos Explorer’s first-ever full day of midwater exploration. The team also observed this squid expelling its white ink!
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploring the Musicians Seamounts.Download larger version (jpg, 834 KB).
Lancetfish observed during midwater transects on Dive 11 near Mahler Seamount.
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploring the Musicians Seamounts.Download larger version (jpg, 755 KB).
On Sunday, September 17, the team conducted the first-ever Okeanos Explorer remotely operated vehicle dive dedicated exclusively to exploring the water column. The water column is the largest, and least explored, habitat on Earth.
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploring the Musicians Seamounts.Download (mp4, 40.2 MB)
Today was the first-ever Okeanos Explorer full day of water column exploration with the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)! Dive 11 consisted of three passes through the water column between 300 and 1,000 meters. The first transect was a continuous oblique descent. During this portion of the dive, our science team monitored the dissolved oxygen levels as well as EK60 and CTD data and compared it to biomass observed. The team then used these data to guide the operations for the rest of the day, which consisted of two iterations of midwater transects between 300 and 900 meters. Also, for two short periods during the dive, all ROV lights were turned off and we caught a brief glimpse of bioluminescence. Other biologic observations included a diversity of siphonophores (including several that were very large), jellyfish, and ctenophores. Other organisms documented were an abundance of bristlemouths (Cyclothone sp.), arrow worms, larvaceans, and shrimp. We also observed two types of squids, a snipe eel, and a lancetfish.
