Today we conducted another dive focused on exploring the geology of the region, this time on a landslide scarp located north of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Though step-like formations of rock draped heavily with soft sediments were prominent in the beginning, throughout the majority of the dive we observed hard, consolidated bottom with significant ferromangangenses coating. We found little evidence of failures in the rock, as indicated by the lack of freshly exposed surfaces, which may indicate that area is more stable than previously thought.
Soft substrate throughout the dive was composed of pteropod shells, foraminiferan shells, and sponge debris. We only observed six fish species at this location, including two very large individuals of Bathysaurus sp. (> 1 meter in length). Sponges, especially glass sponges, were the most dominant organism at this site.
Echinoderms were the second most common organism seen during this dive. We saw about five species of holothurians, a small stalked and an unstalked crinoid, and four species of sea stars. We also observed quite a few shrimp, small branching bryozoans, a carnivorous tunicate, ctenophores, a tube-dwelling anemone, a corallimorph, a plated polychaete worm, as well as a whale barnacle skeleton.