There's so much life in the deep ocean that we don't know anything about. And, since it's too large to explore it all with cameras, and some creatures are too small to see, scientists have found another way to ID occupants of the water column and the seafloor: environmental DNA (eDNA). In this photo, explorers on the 2022 Puerto Rico Mapping and Deep-Sea Camera Demonstration are processing water samples. Genetic material is captured on filters and sent to shore for analysis. Who knows what they'll find.
Processing Water Samples
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2022 Puerto Rico Mapping and Deep-Sea Camera Demonstration.
Download largest version (jpg, 4.5 MB).

There's so much life in the deep ocean that we don't know anything about. And, since it's too large to explore it all with cameras, and some creatures are too small to see, scientists have found another way to ID occupants of the water column and the seafloor: environmental DNA (eDNA). In this photo, NOAA Ocean Exploration's Liang Wu and Katharine Egan are processing water samples on the 2022 Puerto Rico Mapping and Deep-Sea Camera Demonstration. Genetic material is captured on filters and sent to shore for analysis. Who knows what they'll find.