Category Archives: Watch Log

Join in on the deep sea exploration with these amazing highlights from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and E/V Nautilus.

To Boldly Go… Ahyi Seamount

About 12.5 miles off the coast of Farallon de Pajaros, within the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, lies the Ahyi Seamount, an active underwater volcano. This site remained unexplored until June 22nd, 2016, when the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer launched its remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to investigate the volcano. Continue reading To Boldly Go… Ahyi Seamount

Deep Discoveries Are Getting Seirios

How little is known about our ocean is a fact many agree on, however scientists are actively working to bridge the gap between the unknown and discovery. Right now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Exploration and Research (NOAA OER) began the third cruise of their current research expedition. Aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) Deep Discoverer and Seirios, scientists are well on their way to meeting their goals for this trip. The area undergoing daily exploration is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the Marianas Trench National Monument (MTMNM) in the western Pacific. The latter area is under NOAA’s protection, based on inferences that there may be unique features within its depths. Gathering baseline data and learning more about what these areas contain will enable effective conservation initiatives.

Continue reading Deep Discoveries Are Getting Seirios

Sea Star of the Show

Scientists on the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer were thrilled to see a species of sea star alive for the first time in history. The six-rayed sea star,  Rhipidaster (confirmed over phone by Chris Mah from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History), was found at Supply Reef,  an active submarine volcano within the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.  The sea star was last catalogued by scientists over 150 years ago in 1860, when a dead specimen was found. Now, not one, but three of these remarkable sea stars were seen during a June 23, 2016, ROV dive, implying that the species has been living all this time. The fact that this species was seen in an unexpectedly biodiverse region speaks volumes of what else may be awaiting discovery beneath our oceans’ depths. The ship’s mission is far from over.  Participating scientists are excited to see what other unexpected discoveries remain to be revealed!

Okeanos Explorer cruise summary – Exploring the Marianas

The EX1605L1 leg of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer‘s trip to the Marianas was captivating, to say the least! From new species of jellyfish, to hydrothermal vent chimneys, this exploration leg was jam-packed with discoveries.

Okeanos started this cruise leg near Guam, then moved towards the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (MTMNM) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The Marianas Trench is known as the deepest part of the ocean, at almost 11,000 meters deep! The intention behind this cruise leg was to gather baseline knowledge of the biodiversity and geology of the area. The NOAA team onboard used their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer, “D2” to explore the area.

As always, the Inner Space Center at URI published those streams in real-time to YouTube and scientists worldwide. Some dives attracted as many as 2,500 simultaneous viewers.

The biology encountered in the Marianas was phenomenal! The cruise leg started off with a six-gill shark sighting at Santa Rosa Reef.

We discovered a wide variety of creatures inhabiting the area:

One of the most enthralling discoveries was a new species of jellyfish! This hydromedusa was found at Enigma Seamount at roughly 3,700 meters:

The Okeanos Explorer also made some great geological discoveries. They explored a newly-discovered hydrothermal vent site boasting one of the highest temperatures recorded in the Marianas region: 339 degrees Celsius. (Most of the deep sea is a chilly 2 degrees Celsius.) The 30-meter chimney base was releasing black “smoke” made up of iron and anhydrite precipitate.

Actively venting hydrothermal vent chimney shrouded in black smoke, and covered with vent animals, including shrimp, crabs, snails, and scaleworms. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.

There were also young lava flows that had created glassy pillow mounds. The area was so new that no animals had yet colonized the area.

That’s a wrap for Leg 1! Come back for more deepwater exploration on June 17th!

For more details about individual dives visit the NOAA Okeanos Explorer website.

Videos and images courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.

2015 – Year in Review

The Inner Space Center (ISC) has completed another successful year of ocean exploration! We’re excited to say that we’ve had a few milestones this year. We supported three research vessels, completed our first-ever live TV broadcasts from sea, and worked with the University of Rhode Island’s R/V Endeavor using telepresence. Continue reading 2015 – Year in Review

Rhode Island Shipwrecks Recap

From September 2nd, to September 6th, several members of our URI GSO Inner Space Center team sailed aboard the R/V Endeavor. We were joined by scientists (from the URI Graduate School of Oceanography), high school teachers, and members of the United States Coast Guard Academy. Everyone onboard came out to sea for our Rhode Island Shipwrecks project.

Continue reading Rhode Island Shipwrecks Recap

This is what a shark egg looks like?

If you’ve worked at the Inner Space Center for as long as Alex and I have, it’s rare to see something you’ve never seen before during a live dive. The E/V Nautilus is currently studying volcanic activity in the area surrounding the Galapagos Islands, but they stumbled upon a field of what they believe to be shark eggs. As soon as they appeared onscreen, I called the ISC Video Crew into Mission Control to take a look. Continue reading This is what a shark egg looks like?

Investigating an Underwater Volcano

Recently, I joined up with local up-and-coming researcher, Brennan Phillips, on an expedition to the remote waters of the Solomon Islands. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find great article on the work. A huge thank you goes to local legend Todd McLeish for writing the piece.

All images in this article are © Alex DeCiccio. Continue reading Investigating an Underwater Volcano