cmcclain | March 15, 2007
This beautiful, actively venting carbonate structure resembling a snow-covered Christmas tree is about 3 ft high. "The beehive" is perched precariously on the near-vertical side of the 200-ft-tall Poseidon tower. An almost identical structure was inadvertently damaged during sampling during 2003; this one has regrown since that time. Older light gray carbonate cut by white carbonate veins in the background are on the side of Poseidon. IFE, URI-IAO, UW, Lost City science party, and NOAA
cmcclain | March 15, 2007
Yesterday, I looked out my window* and saw the next part of the MARS project falling into place (previous post 1, previous post 2, BBC story). Currently, the Global Sentinel, a cable laying ship, is anchored offshore as the last bit of cable is being joined to the shore station. This website as an excellent schematic of vessel.
*Literary flourish: Actually postdoctoral fellows at MBARI don't get windows, those are reserved for lead scientists.
cmcclain | March 14, 2007 Today is my birthday! And although I won't get the birthday spectacular that PZ did, I share my birthday with some magnificent company, Strauss, Ehrlich, Jones, Einstein, Jones, and Crystal.
Peter decided to get me riled up for the ol' b-day by sending a link to a website of the utmost stupidity. Let's just say Peter knows how to push my buttons!
Original Quinton marine plasma is not just seawater. It is nutrient-rich marine fluid harvested from the depths of an oceanic plankton bloom. When taken orally, this Original Quinton marine plasma can restore cellular homeostasis and mineral…
cmcclain | March 14, 2007It took some mighty fine nets, but scientists who spent two years trawling the world's oceans for bacteria and viruses have completed the most thorough census ever of marine microbial life, revealing an astonishingly diverse and bizarre microscopic menagerie.
More at the Washington Post Hat tip to Dave.
petnoyer | March 13, 2007National Geographic explorer-in-residence Dr. Robert Ballard led a team of scientists to explore the "twilight zone" near 100m depth around the Flower Garden Banks region in the Gulf of Mexico last week. Every cabin, van, and workspace on the support vessel SSV Carolyn Chouest seemed to be wired for communication to the shore via dedicated satellite and microwave feeds. The entire Secrets of the Gulf (SOG) expedition was broadcast live over the web through an emerging exploration technology Ballard calls telepresence.
Ballard coined the term telepresence to describe part of his mission at the…
cmcclain | March 12, 2007 [OceansWide is a new nonprofit based in Maine dedicated to giving the opportunity of deep-sea exploration to youth. The program brings together students, the community, research scientists, and ROV pilots to educate youth through actual ongoing research. A wonderful program that is looking for donations for the purchase of equipment for the program (picture above and below). The statement below is from OceanWide's President, Buzz Scott. PLEASE LINK TO THIS POST ON YOUR BLOG TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD!]
We've done it now! We started an educational/scientific program called OceansWide and it is…
cmcclain | March 11, 2007
"I was in here the whole time!" Says Giant Squid.Most Giant Squid remains have been found in the stomachs of Sperm Whales. This has led some of the stupider Marine Biologists to theorize that the belly of the Sperm Whale is in fact the natural habitat of the Giant Squid.
cmcclain | March 9, 2007 Why bother collecting samples at depth, bring them to the surface, preserve them, bring them into the lab, and then sequence them when you can just do it on the ocean bottom?
MBARI researchers perform first DNA analysis in the deep sea In a culmination of seven years of work, MBARI researchers this week performed the first automated analysis of DNA in the deep sea. Using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana, they carried an automated DNA laboratory called the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) down to a depth of 1,000 meters in Monterey Bay. The ESP has been used previously to…
cmcclain | March 9, 2007Paula Moore is quite unhappy about the colossal squid capture.
None of this is necessary. Leaving fish (and other animals) off our plates is the most humane choice--and the best way to help replenish the world's fragile oceans. It is the only way to ensure that spectacular animals like the colossal squid, surely one of the most mysterious beings of the deep ocean, are spared the indignity of being violently hauled out of their watery homes and turned into the butt of cheap jokes.
The dialogue on vegetarianism and reducing fishing does not really bother me. My wife and I were vegetarian for…
cmcclain | March 8, 2007
A celebration of International Polar Year
Picture: Craig R. McClain, Iceberg in Weddell Sea taken from the deck of R/V Polarstern
cmcclain | March 8, 2007In the tradition of Internet adages, I'd like to add another. In any discussion of sea life, no matter how rare, strange or disgusting, some knucklehead will always ask how well it goes with lemon or butter. I am calling this Gorton's Law.
cmcclain | March 8, 2007
Laser line scan mosaic of a pool of brine surrounded by mussels at a depth of 700 meters in the Gulf of Mexico. From here.
What is a brine pool?
A brine pool is a volume of hypersaline (~4-5x) water that is denser than the surrounding water forming anywhere from a puddle to a lake on the seafloor with a distinctive shoreline and surface. They are common in the Gulf of Mexico.
At the shore of the brine pool, the mussels form dense 'reefs'. In this picture you can see a float marking one of [the] study sites.From here.
How do brine pools form?
Brine pools are…
cmcclain | March 7, 2007
From MBARI: This is a worm? This photograph of the newly named worm shows its mouth, which typically faces downward as the animal drifts about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the ocean surface. Image: Karen Osborn (c) 2006 MBARI
The picture is of a new marine worm, Chaetopterus pugaporcinus, that dwells at 1000m. Its Latin name translates into "Chaetopterid worm that looks liek th rump of a pig. It has a segemented body like other polychaetes but the middle segments are inflated. The posterior and anterior segments are compressed against the inflated segments. One of the authors…
petnoyer | March 7, 2007 Wired Magazine is running an interesting story on Nautilus Minerals and their plans to mine the seafloor off Papua New Guine. The media offerings and graphics are pretty sharp.
cmcclain | March 6, 2007 A great response from the readers to last week's Pose a Question post. Here are some answers.
Jim inquires, "What's the current take on a deep sea origin of life?" A great question that I addressed as part of the ongoing 25 Things You Should Know Series.
Mustafa ponders, "Does an octopus have a medulla oblongata?" No. The medulla oblongata, although fun to say, is part of the brain stem, which is not found in invertebrates. Yet, the octopus central nervous system is more like the vertebrate brain than 'brains' of its relatives, snails and clams. Consider that the common seaslug,…
cmcclain | March 5, 2007Tagged by the meme from Adventures in Ethics and Science and Retrospectacle...
I have OCD tendencies. All the hangers in my closet have to be the same color and oriented in the same direction. A stain on my clothing, no matter how small, will cause me to change clothes. My cd, books, and everything else in my life is close to alphabetized as humanly possible. I can organize the same set of items mutiple times in row and still not be happy. Any deviation from organization or a plan will completely shut me down for the day.
I do not have toenails on either my left or right big toe. They…
cmcclain | March 5, 2007An expedition to reveal the secrets of a mysterious huge hole at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean started overnight.
cmcclain | March 5, 2007 Every since I worked at wine merchant in Natick, MA to pay for my tiny apartment during graduate school, I have enjoyed Italian wines. My favorite? Castello Di Gabbiano. My other favorite? Catello Banfi. Maybe they will both send me bottles for the online plug (hint, hint).
My love of Italian wines is so great, and this news just bizare enough, for me to temparily loosen the 200m limit for DSN. At the Banfi Estate a 5 my old, Plicoene, whale was discovered. In total 16 vertebra, the size of footballs, were excavated. At the time of the fortunate or unfortunate (depending if you are the…
cmcclain | March 5, 2007
In celebration of IPY, the Canadian Post has released a set of stamps (above). One of these is the polar, deep-sea jellyfish, Crossota millsaeare. The size on the stamp of Crossota is about its actual size.
petnoyer | March 4, 2007Secrets of the Gulf Expedition is broadcasting live footage of submersible surveys at 100m depth around the Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the cutting edge of exploration technology.
Check it out here:
http://www.immersionpresents.org
Every few hours they run a live broadcast hosted by Bob Ballard and his team.
and here:
http://www.oceanslive.org
They show continuous footage of the ARGOS tow sled as it performs scientific transects in search of biology, geology, and anthropology.