Tag Archives: nautilus

World Oceans Day Tri-Ship Connection

Celebrate World Oceans Day and join the Inner Space Center as it connects LIVE with three ocean science and exploration vessels: the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, E/V Nautilus, and RV Falkor.  Tune in through Facebook Live and/or YouTube on June 8, 2018, at 3:00 pm ET, and hear from scientists, engineers, and other crew as they discuss the important (and exciting!) work they are conducting to understand our changing ocean. Be part of the conversation and explore with us!

Ocean Exploration, “Olympic-Style”

Boundary map for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary- yellow dots outline sanctuary waters. Image credit: NOAA Sanctuaries.

From August 18, 2017, to September 3, 2017, the E/V Nautilus will be exploring the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (NMS), located along the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state.  The sanctuary encompasses 3,189 square miles (8,260 km2), an area equivalent to the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.  It extends 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 km) from the shore, including most of the continental shelf, as well as three important submarine canyons: the Nitinat Canyon, the Quinault Canyon and the Juan de Fuca Canyon.  The main objectives of this expedition are to explore and characterize seafloor resources and features associated with these submarine canyons. Quinault and Quileute Canyons have never been explored by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or autonomous underwater vehicle ( AUV).

Continue reading Ocean Exploration, “Olympic-Style”

March 2017 Newsletter

Hello Ocean Explorers:

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Northwest Passage Project’s website, www.northwestpassageproject.org. The Northwest Passage Project (NPP), an innovative science and education initiative that includes an expedition into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. This National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project will engage intergenerational cohorts of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in hands-on research exploring the changing Arctic and collecting data.

Continue reading March 2017 Newsletter

2016 – A Year in Review

It’s been another eventful year here at the Inner Space Center (ISC)! We outfitted two research vessels and a merchant vessel with telepresence technologies, and supported over 100 days of telepresence on the E/V Nautilus, and on the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Our services facilitated the investigation the El Faro shipwreck, supported a 5-year study of submerged tribal cultural sites in Rhode Island Sound, and enabled the first ever telepresence broadcast from a manned submarine! During the summer, we hosted the next generation of deep-sea scientists at ISC Mission Control as they participated in a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) dive-planning boot-camp. Meanwhile, the Nautilus and Okeanos Explorer continued their ground-breaking deep sea explorations of offshore California, and the Marianas region.
Continue reading 2016 – A Year in Review

Creature Spotlight: Dancing, Flailing Sea Cucumbers

Among the most sighted organisms during the field season’s remotely operated vehicle dives are sea cucumbers, also known as holothurians. A class containing over 250 species, sea cucumbers are highly diverse, and may appear spiky and brightly colored, or smooth and translucent.

The Nautilus Live video below , and this video by  the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer team showcase the extraordinary diversity of sea cucumbers encountered in Windward Passage, and the Marianas, respectfully.

more info…

This sea cucumber was seen at Hadal Ridge in the Mariana Trench on June 21, 2016. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Exploration and Research.
ROV Deep Discoverer encounters a feeding sea cucumber. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Exploration and Research.http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1605/dailyupdates/media/video/0708-cukes/0708-cukes.html

 


Featured image: Sea cucumber off the coast of Puerto Rico, 15 October, 2013. Image courtesy of the Ocean Exploration Trust.

 

What is an ROV?

If the ocean is so unfathomably wide and deep, how can scientists possibly hope to do any more than dip our noses beneath the waves to explore? Luckily, engineers have adapted machines to reach areas of the ocean that would never be possible with a human alone. This is where remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, become essential tools of discovery.

The ROV Hercules travels alongside a sixgill shark, with the support of its tow sled, Argos*

Continue reading What is an ROV?

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

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?