From mysterious, barely visible fish and high-tech deep sea submersibles to virtual reality tours of the ocean floor and ocean conservation challenges, it's safe to say we like thinking about the worlds that exist beneath the sea and what worlds may await us in the watery depths beneath the ice of Jupiter's moon, Europa, and Saturn's moon, Enceladus. A popular video from 2019 shows Gulf of Mexico isopods swarming over(opens in a new tab) and feasting on an alligator carcass. In 2017, Nasa launched the Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog, also known as Subsea, to bring together the fields of space and ocean exploration. After long On June 27, talk to ocean scientists and ask your questions in a special ship-to-shore livestream from the ocean floor. Earths biggest habitat is also the one that we know the least about. A squid mom hauled a sprawling sheet of eggs through the water. This is a protected area just over 900 miles southwest of Hawai'i. Lets dive down into the ocean. For example, research expeditions have found that ocean life carries great potential for novel medicines. The University of New Hampshires Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (UNH CCOM), as a member of the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI), funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration, has taken delivery of an iXblue DriX Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) and its Universal Deployment System. The creature, named Duobrachium sparksae, was first spotted during a 2015 dive led by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Every deep sea expedition returns with footage of new, rare, and/or alien-like creatures. Ive been following the E/V Nautilus and their live-streamed exploration from the depths of our oceans for the past couple of years. December 16, 2022|The Weather Network. December 15, 2022|National Geographic. This World Oceans Day we are diving into the mysterious world of the deep ocean. Here is our list of the top 10 weirdest deep-sea creatures seen in 2021. Siphonophores dwell at some 2,300 to 3,280 feet beneath the surface, so they're not easy to study. That reproductive sleight of hand means that the octopus moms brood for less than two years, instead of the estimated 12. Dr Anjani Ganase discusses a few of the discoveries made in 2021, including the realisation that protection should be secured by co-operation among all nations working together. We may not think about it often, but our lives draw and depend on the ocean. It shows a wonderland of strange and mysterious creatures. Meet the crew of the E/V Nautilus as they explore the ocean floor live! A UK boat has just provided an impressive demonstration of the future of robotic maritime operations. "Lockdown slowed global shipping on a scale that would otherwise be impossible," explained Prof Peter Tyack from the University of St Andrews. The sea mosses, molluscs and corals had eluded discovery because the sea floor is so unexplored, scientists say. Relying largely on voluntary contributions of bathymetric data (or ocean topography) by governments, companies and research institutions, the project is part of a larger UN-led initiative called The Ocean Decade. The five passengers were all presumed dead. Sound has moved to the forefront of ocean exploration in past years thanks to its speed underwaterit travels almost five times faster than in the air. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Submarines are one of the most effective elements of the world's most powerful navies. Many of its creatures are still unknown to us both in kind and number. August 11, 2020|Southern Fried Science. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas that plays a key role in Earths climate. It looks like a deep sea shark, like a frilled shark. While the U.S. has been a leader in space exploration, including investing billions of dollars to achieve a set of national priorities, there are many great unknowns on Earth where we can step up similar efforts. (In this imaginary exercise, you have amazing, inhuman lungs.) The implications of knowing are incalculable, particularly as deep sea mineral prospectors prepare to run tank-like industrial equipment across parts of the seafloor(opens in a new tab). Infinite new questions. Any deeper and the submarine's haul would implode. Far from a recent invention, submarines have a long and interesting history. Consisting of deep trenches and troughs, it extends 11km (6.8 miles) below the surface of the world's oceans. The worlds oceans are home to more than 240,000 known species, each with specific conditions in which they need to thrive. Data is needed to map and monitor ocean conditions, assess the impacts of climate change, warn about ocean-related natural disasters, and manage the oceans valuable economic and ecological resources. Over a century after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution released never-before-seen footage on Wednesday of what was at one point the largest ship in the world. Jupiters four largest moons may be conspiring to maintain their subsurface oceans. These vents belch scorching hot fluids into extremely cold seawater, creating the chemical forces necessary for the small organisms that inhabit this extreme environment to live. With the help of wealthy tourists, experts hope to learn more about the vessel as well as the underwater ecosystem that shipwrecks spawn. Experts from the University of Bristol and Swansea University have shed new light on the giant megalodon, which is historys largest marine predator. The pressure is 26 times greater here than at the surface, which would crush most human lungs. At seafloor methane seeps, it percolates upwards toward the open ocean, and microbial communities consume the majority of this methane before it reaches the atmosphere. During the 28-day voyage, the Saildrone Surveyor sailed 2,250 nautical miles and mapped 6,400 square nautical miles of seafloor. June 28, 2022|NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. On January 23 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh climbed into an undersea craft called Trieste and dived nearly 11 kilometres to the deepest point in the oceanthe Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. December 7, 2022|U.S. After nearly two weeks of recent United Nations negotiations in New York City, countries from around the world failed to finalize an ambitious treaty that would create enormous marine protected areas and enforce stricter rules for industry on the high seasthe two thirds of the ocean beyond any countrys exclusive ocean territory. Teams with ocean exploration non-profit OceanX initially made the discovery in 2020 during an expedition in the Neom region of the northern Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. Scientists were astonished after they found a rare warty octopus and zombie sea sponge in deep sea footage. WE LOVE DEEP-SEA science here at WIRED, and we have the coverage to prove it. September 12, 2022|Scientific American. A "dinner plate jellyfish" imaged at 1,640 feet deep on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expedition in 2022. All kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans, hang out in the depths during the day, where the darkness provides protection from predators. The researchers have called their vast listening experiment: The year of the quiet ocean. By signing Proclamation 9496, he created the nations first marine national monument in the waters of the continental United States. The park shared images of the fish on social media and identified it as being most likely the Pacific Football Fish. The eruption that continues to awe researchers. Does that mean they are safe? In fact, its a busy, flexible hub of scientific activity. A hotter ocean is a hungrier ocean -- at least as far as fish predators are concerned. Kitefin sharks (Dalatias licha) have been known about since the 18th century, but it was only in January 2020 that scientists saw them glowing in the dark for the first time. Far from land, deep sea mining trials have left barren marks that are still there decades later, and as Richard Fisher writes, they symbolise two different timescales colliding. Only three sources on Earth produce methane naturally: volcanoes, subsurface water-rock interactions, and microbes. The siphonophore is actually made up of thousands of small clones called siphonophores that resemble jellyfish. January 15, 2022|Environmental News Service. The video, which was captured by marine explorers in the US, showed two profoundly rare sights from underneath the ocean surface. A new world of weird and wonderful creatures has been discovered living near deep sea volcanoes in the Indian Ocean. If the plane was in there, it would have seen it, says Robert Ballard, referring to the 14-foot autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) launched from his 211-foot exploration vessel, the E/V Nautilus. It means that each step towards the exploration of other worlds, we learn a little bit more about some of the most unexplored parts of our own blue planet too. It wasnt a spout from humpback whales that power through this scenic fjord, or a sea otter lazing on its back, munching a king crab. A team of ocean explorers discovered an absolute unit of a shark tooth and it may trace back millions of years to a time when colossal predators roamed the sea. Map the Gaps is cultivating and empowering a growing network of professionals, organizations and communities working together to create new ways for interacting with, understanding and protecting the seafloor. A leading hypothesis for the presence of H2 in the plume points to hydrothermal activity at the base of the Enceladus subsurface ocean. However, some areas within the Florida Keys, especially the Dry Tortugas and many upper mesophotic habitats (30 to 60 meters), have maintained relatively healthy coral communities, even in the face of recent severe and widespread coral disease outbreaks. Jeff Warren didnt know what hed found when he and his son came upon a washed up carcass on the beach at Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge near Darien On August 11, 2022, the Saildrone Surveyor departed Dutch Harbor in Alaskas Aleutian Islands, embarking on a multipartner project to better understand the ocean and seafloor in one of the most remote and understudied parts of the United States. The ocean keeps the Earth alive. In collaboration with the United States Navys Underwater Archaeology Branch, I taught a computer how to recognize shipwrecks on the ocean floor from scans taken by aircraft and ships on the surface. March 22, 2023 | Miami Herald A mountain would seem to be a tough thing to miss, but a new one has been found off the coast of Northern California. The deep-sea off Costa Rica rides the edge of human imagination. Engine trouble can be a real drag. The creatures can talk to each other visually using bioluminescence, and, researchers now say, through changing skin color patterns that communicate precise messages that could be translated into warnings like "don't touch my food.". Scientists have long regarded the moon as one of the most promising targets in the search for life elsewhere in our Solar System. A century and a half after HMS Challenger embarked on the first global survey of the ocean, some ideas from the era still linger. The haunting remains of the SS Bloody Marsh may have been discovered 100 miles off South Carolina 78 years after torpedoes from a German U-boat split the ship in two and killed three men. In July, I took part as a scientist in a commercial deep sea companys amazing dive to explore the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, over 12,000 feet beneath the North Atlantic. Take a look Updated July Underwater waves deep below the ocean's surfacesome as tall as 500 metersplay an important role in how the ocean stores heat and carbon, according to new research. Even so, the governing legal regime for UUVs remains uncharted while the international community is just now skimming the surface of regulatory waters, with a focus on autonomous surface ships. Jeff Warren didnt know what hed found when he and his son came upon a washed up carcass on the beach at Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge near Darien on Saturday. New NatGeo SharkFest show explains why. It remains unclear whether the vessel made it to its desired endpoint, the Titanic wreck, and when exactly in its journey it imploded. They could even provide clues about where scientists should be searching for alien life. The filmmaker and Titanic expert James Cameron told ABC News that the Titan submersible was likely trying to resurface after losing all communications with the outside world hours into a deep-sea mission Sunday and that the five passengers on board likely knew of a problem before the vessel collapsed in a catastrophic implosion. If you liked this story,sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called "The Essential List" a handpicked selection of stories from BBCFuture,Culture,Worklife,TravelandReeldelivered to your inbox every Friday. He said the vessel was probably trying to resurface to manage an emergency. In my field, we collect long sediment cores from the ocean floor, to reconstruct the oceans and climates of the past, looking for analogues of the current warming climate. February 2, 2023|Smithsonian Magazine. Senator Alex Padilla (CA) has announced that he has secured $600,000 in funding for AltaSeas Ocean STEM Pathways program at the Port of Los Angeles, a major win for the nonprofit and the Los Angeles community. South Africa is known to be a country of diversity from the people, languages, culture, music, and food, you can blink and be surrounded by different experiences. Scientists have long assumed that the reason was obvious: shallow ocean waters are warm and rich in resources, making them an ideal environment for new species to grow and flourish. But did it ever explore the oceans, and why did it stop doing so? The inspiring age-old sea challenge combined with a new kind of desire for discovery prompted ProMare Co-founder Brett Phaneuf to ask: Why not use this opportunity to advance into the future rather than reminisce about the past? A shipload of scientists has just returned from exploring the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean, where they mapped giant underwater mountains and encountered a multitude of deep-sea animals decked out in twinkling lights, with velvety black skin and mouths full of needle-sharp, glassy fangs. Therefore, most of the world's biosphere is a deep ocean environment, where it's pitch black, the temperature is just above freezing, and it's subject to crushing pressures. That was the case for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It's so intense that the individual cells of an animal would be squeezed out.". You can read the whole story on Mashable. As seawater moves and mixes, it stores and transports huge amounts of carbon in the form of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon molecules. It was off the coast of central California, near an undersea volcano. The federal government is investing more than $46 million over the next five years to see what's under Canada's oceans and develop protections. Opening remarks will be provided by NOAA acting Chief Scientist Craig McLean, Ocean Exploration Trust President Bob Ballard and NOAA Ocean Exploration acting Director Genene Fisher. As greenhouse gas emissions warm the planet, the ocean is absorbing vast amounts of that heat. Ocean scientists around the world are studying the "unique moment" of quiet created by the pandemic. Using a technique called reflection seismology, a team of scientists has imaged enormous gouges carved by subglacial rivers, buried hundreds of meters below the floor of the North Sea. Not everyone would rule out a hoax. Comb jelliesknown to scientists as ctenophores (pronounced "teen-oh-fours")mesmerize with their beauty, but these captivating creatures remain poorly studied due to their delicate nature. William Brangham reports. Fewer than 10 scientists went out to sea with the Subsea mission and they worked with a larger group of colleagues on shore. My son, who is twelve, thinks it is the child of the legendary Altamaha-ha and has now decided he wants to be a marine biologist, Warren said. But this wasn't always the case. The computer model we created is 92% accurate in finding known shipwrecks. Commonly referred to as sea fleas, they are found in waters all At first, the researchers thought it could be a sixgill shark, a dominant and fascinating predator of the deep sea. February 4, 2022|The Natural History Museum. June 27, 2023 by Imtiaz Mahi Loaded 0% - Auto (360p LQ) Do Dolphins Have Gills? "If it works, there is no place in the ocean where you can't go.". Even at depths of 150 m below sea level, the light levels are reduced to 1% of the surface, which makes it insufficient to support photosynthesis. Scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, the first to be discovered in over 120 years, Schmidt Ocean Institute announced. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is scrambling to develop regulations for exploiting metals from the marine floor by July 2023. A first for NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, this test of piloting an ROV from shore opens new possibilities for deep-ocean exploration. A few species of squids hold their eggs until they hatch, presumably to protect them from predators. A scientific cruise this week will explore life forms on seamounts and ridges off Southern California, in order to map out those ecosystems before commercial activities take place there. Darth Vader and RoboCop now have some cyborg company in the form of superpowered jellyfish. This is probably because these creatures, also known as sea squirts, are mostly small, gelatinous and transparent, and their patchy distribution in the ocean makes them difficult to study. On or about July 12, a two-person team will descend nearly 36,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean to capture images and data from the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth's ocean. A new study suggests that deep beneath the Earths crust, in a layer called the mantle, sizzling-hot rocks are rising up and pushing on tectonic plates those rocky jigsaw pieces that form Earth's crust that meet beneath the Atlantic. "Systematic searches for new drugs have shown that marine invertebrates produce more antibiotic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory substances than any group of terrestrial organisms," notes NOAA(opens in a new tab). According to a report from Mongabay, a US-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform, a group of South African shark hunters recently found the rare coelacanth species (Latimeria chalumnae) in the West Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar. The surface of Jupiters innermost moon is covered in scorching lava lakes and gored by hundreds of active volcanoes, some spitting molten rock dozens of kilometers high (SN: 8/6/14). Named Eurythenes atacamensis, this crustacean, which is closely related to shrimp, is a scavenger that lives off bits of dead sea creature which drift down from above. More recently, in Blue Planet II (2017) and other sources, the Moon is replaced with Mars. A robot operating in outer space or the deep ocean, however, must be completely autonomous. The seamount, as underwater mountains are called, was discovered by a seafloor mapping drone and its shape is more like a giant tower than a mountain. A bigfin squid that study co-author Alan Jamieson observed more than 16,000 feet underwater in 2014. Its Office of Ocean Exploration and Research was so pleased with one contractor, the office chief wrote a formal letter of commendation. The seafloor is not as serene as it seems. It will cross the sea powered by sun and wind, and steered by artificial intelligence (AI). Scientists have described more than 240 new species based on footage and collections by MBARI. The ocean is an unending source of wonder. Since the global boom of ocean exploration technology began in the 1960s, deep-sea exploration has faced a number of barriers. For my Ph.D. research, I dropped 1.5 miles in the Alvin submersible above the East Pacific Rise, southwest of Acapulco. Ocean sciences brute force approach is impossible in space. A team of researchers has found and documented a new, active deep-sea octopus nursery 2 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica. The nursery is the first known aggregation of deep-sea octopus. Almost five years of studying the deep Atlantic in unprecedented detail has revealed 12 species new to science. Heres why. NOAA and The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) signed a 10-year agreement today to collaborate on ways to improve how uncrewed systems (UxS) are used to collect important ocean observation data and augment NOAAs operational capabilities. During 4-H STEM Month this October, youth from across the country will apply their knowledge, creativity, and innovation to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics during the 15th annual 4-H STEM Challenge. The uncrewed, autonomous, Saildrone Surveyor recently completed a groundbreaking maiden voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu. Fifteen minutes after the dive,Nitsch developed severe decompression syndrome which led to multiple brain strokes. Dawn Wright as mission specialist. It carries four deep sea vehicles (two of which are submersibles that carry scientists) and a helicopter, while housing four research labs. The agency this year plans to accelerate exploration of the entire U.S. Depending on ones outlook, it can be awe-inspiring for its natural beauty, or terrifying in its vastness. Last October, a team of marine explorers sent Hercules a remote-controlled vehicle to the bottom of the ocean. Discovered in the deep: the squid that makes a decoy out of its own skin, The ocean in a cup: Environmental DNA successfully captures marine biodiversity, Glassy fangs and glowing fins: amazing deep sea animals found near Cocos Islands, From a blind eel with gelatinous skin to a hermaphrodite lizard fish with long sharp teeth: Meet the bizarre ocean creatures discovered living near deep-sea volcanoes in the Indian Ocean, Terrifying Images Show Monstrous Deep-Sea Creature With Enormous Fangs, Discovered in the deep: the sharks that glow in the dark, Pursuing New Frontiers in Ocean Exploration and Characterization, Space Travel and Deep-Ocean Exploration Are Becoming More Accessible, Black, Deep-Sea Coral That Can Live in Warm Waters Discovered, Tiger Sharks Help Scientists Uncover Worlds Largest Seagrass Ecosystem, Scientists astonished by rare octopus and 'zombie' sea sponge in stunning footage, Traces of ancient ocean discovered on Mars, 11,100-year-old trap proves people lived in Alaska 1,000 years earlier than believed, Giant, Horrid Deep-Sea Louse-Like Creature Filmed Feasting on Fish Head, Introducing FathomNet: New open-source image database unlocks the power of AI for ocean exploration, Scientists discover a new ecosystem in the deep ocean of Maldives, Blue snailfish discovered in the darkest ocean depths, Humans can dive deeper into the worlds oceans than ever before with Alvin, The Deepest Part of the Ocean Is Practically an Alien Planet, Your gaming skills could help teach an AI to identify jellyfish and whales, 'Forest of the weird' discovered in Pacific Ocean, Giant Shark Tooth Found Deep in the Ocean May Be Millions of Years Old, Scientists Spot Strange Deep-Sea Urchin Gathering Off St. Croix, What it's like mapping the deepest parts of the ocean, 4-H Launches 2022 STEM Challenge Focused On Marine Science and Climate Change, Discovered in the deep: the sea cucumber that lives a jellyfish life, Small eddies play a big role in feeding ocean microbes, Guest post: Why ocean depth is key for how warming will affect marine life, This new underwater camera is powered by sound, In the oceans twilight zone, a fish that could feed the world or destroy it, This ship tried to warn the Titanic about the iceberg. Over the years, researchers are finding more and more methane beneath the seafloor, yet very little ever leaves the oceans and gets into the atmosphere. If you happen to be crossing the San Francisco Bay or Golden Gate bridges this week, look for a massive surfboard with a red sail on top cruising slowly across the water. But blue whales manage it when they dive to a max depth of 1,640 feet to hunt giant squid. That was the consensus at Georgia Southern University, said Biology Professor Ray Chandler. Visit our corporate site. Living on Earths Jenni Doering called up Merry Camhi, director of the New York Seascape at the Wildlife Conservation Society and New York Aquarium to learn more about what protecting Hudson Canyon could mean. Known as a siphonophore Apolemia, the string-like creature is huge, measuring well over 150 feet. To prepare for outer space conditions, Mirmalek restricted the Subsea scientists to communicating with each other just once a day. A team of researchers has found and documented a new, active deep-sea octopus nursery 2 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica. Instead, everyone aboard the Nanuq, a University of Alaska Fairbanks research vessel, was looking where a 5-foot (1.52-meter) long, bright pink underwater sea glider surfaced. Marine researchers used high-resolution cameras aboard a deep sea exploration robot to focus on how the translucent bell-like pieces ("nectophores") move the colorful colony through the water. ", December 20, 2022|Smithsonian Magazine. China has broken its own record for deepest manned dive into the world's oceans, sinking an estimated 10,909 meters (35,790 feet) into the Mariana Trench, state-run news agency Xinhua said. How an underwater robot could help reveal mysteries of the deep, Deep Diving for Metals: Visualizing Ocean Mining, Autonomous Research Vehicle Completes Ocean Crossing, Ocean Exploration Off California Discovers New Methane Seep, Whale Fall, Seminar: NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute - Exploring the USs Blue Frontier, A Research Vessel Found SpongeBob Look-Alikes A Mile Under The Ocean's Surface, AI spots shipwrecks from the ocean surface and even from the air, Deep-sea research bolstered with $2 million grant, Study examines the role of deep-sea microbial predators at hydrothermal vents, New Approach Could Boost the Search for Life in Otherworldly Oceans, Surprise undersea volcano could offer unique window into Earths interior, Building a detailed seafloor map to reveal the ocean's unknowns, Intertidal: NOAAs been mapping our coast since 1807, Sonardyne BlueComm to Stream Ocean Exploration Missions Live, How Low Can You Go?