 |
|
Caltech scientists lead deep-sea discovery voyage
February 05, 2009PASADENA, Calif.--Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and an international team of collaborators have returned from a month-long deep-sea voyage to a marine reserve near Tasmania, Australia, that not only netted coral-reef samples likely to provide insight into the impact of climate change on the world's oceans, but also brought to light at least three never-before-seen species of sea life.
"It was truly one of those transcendent moments," says Caltech's Jess Adkins of the descents made by the remotely operated submersible Jason. Adkins was the cruise's lead scientist and is an associate professor of geochemistry and global environmental science at Caltech. "We were flying--literally flying--over these deep-sea structures that look like English gardens, but are actually filled with all of these carnivorous, Seuss-like creatures that no one else has ever seen."
The voyage on the research vessel RV Thompson explored the Tasman Fracture Commonwealth Marine Reserve, southwest of Tasmania. The voyage was funded by the National Science Foundation and was the second of two cruises taken by the team, which included researchers from the United States--including scientists from Caltech and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which owns and operates the submersible Jason--and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The first of those voyages was taken in January 2008, with this most recent one spanning 33 days from mid-December 2008 through mid-January 2009.
Up until now, the area of the reef the scientists were exploring--called the Tasman Fracture Zone--had only been explored to a depth of 1,800 meters (more than 5,900 feet). Using Jason, the researchers on this trip were able to reach as far down as 4,000 meters (well over 13,000 feet).
"We set out to search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters," notes scientist Ron Thresher from CSIRO's Climate Adaptation and Wealth from Oceans Flagships.
The cruise had two main goals, says Adkins. One was to try to use deep-sea corals to reconstruct the paleoclimate--with an emphasis on the changes in climate over the last 100,000 years--and to understand the fluctuations in CO2 found in the ice-core records. Investigators also wanted to look at changes in the ocean over a much smaller slice of time--the past few hundred to one thousand or so years. "We want to see what's happened to the corals over the Industrial Revolution timescale," says Adkins. "And we want to see if we can document those changes."
The second goal? "Simply to document what's down there," says Adkins.
"In one sense, the deep ocean is less explored than Mars," he adds. "So every time you go to look down there you see new things, magical things."
Among the "magical things" seen on this trip were
* a new species of carnivorous sea squirt that "looks and behaves like a Venus fly trap," says Adkins;
* new species of barnacles (some of which Adkins says may even belong to an entirely new family); and
* a new species of sea anemone that Adkins calls "the bane of our existence," because it looks just like the coral they were trying to collect.
The sea anemone was particularly vexing for the researchers, because they were hoping to find deep-sea (or abyssal) samples of the fossilized coral, but were unable to find the coral much below 2,400 meters (nearly 7,800 feet). The look-alike sea anemone, on the other hand, kept popping up all over the place on the deep-sea floor, raising--and then dashing--the scientists' hopes.
"Not being able to find the coral down deeper was our single biggest disappointment on the trip," says Adkins.
Still, the 10,000-plus samples collected will help the researchers begin their work of deciphering just what has been happening to the ocean throughout the centuries of climate change, and during and between glacial cycles. First up: dating the fossils collected on this trip in order to determine which slice of history they came from.
"The deep ocean is part and parcel of these rapid climate changes," says Adkins. "These corals will be our window into what their impact is on climate, and how they have that impact. The info is there; now we just have to unpack it."
California Institute of Technology
Up until now, the area of the reef the scientists were exploring--called the Tasman Fracture Zone--had only been explored to a depth of 1,800 meters (more than 5,900 feet). Using Jason, the researchers on this trip were able to reach as far down as 4,000 meters (well over 13,000 feet).
"We set out to search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters," notes scientist Ron Thresher from CSIRO's Climate Adaptation and Wealth from Oceans Flagships.
The cruise had two main goals, says Adkins. One was to try to use deep-sea corals to reconstruct the paleoclimate--with an emphasis on the changes in climate over the last 100,000 years--and to understand the fluctuations in CO2 found in the ice-core records. Investigators also wanted to look at changes in the ocean over a much smaller slice of time--the past few hundred to one thousand or so years. "We want to see what's happened to the corals over the Industrial Revolution timescale," says Adkins. "And we want to see if we can document those changes."
The second goal? "Simply to document what's down there," says Adkins.
"In one sense, the deep ocean is less explored than Mars," he adds. "So every time you go to look down there you see new things, magical things."
Among the "magical things" seen on this trip were
* a new species of carnivorous sea squirt that "looks and behaves like a Venus fly trap," says Adkins;
* new species of barnacles (some of which Adkins says may even belong to an entirely new family); and
* a new species of sea anemone that Adkins calls "the bane of our existence," because it looks just like the coral they were trying to collect.
The sea anemone was particularly vexing for the researchers, because they were hoping to find deep-sea (or abyssal) samples of the fossilized coral, but were unable to find the coral much below 2,400 meters (nearly 7,800 feet). The look-alike sea anemone, on the other hand, kept popping up all over the place on the deep-sea floor, raising--and then dashing--the scientists' hopes.
"Not being able to find the coral down deeper was our single biggest disappointment on the trip," says Adkins.
Still, the 10,000-plus samples collected will help the researchers begin their work of deciphering just what has been happening to the ocean throughout the centuries of climate change, and during and between glacial cycles. First up: dating the fossils collected on this trip in order to determine which slice of history they came from.
"The deep ocean is part and parcel of these rapid climate changes," says Adkins. "These corals will be our window into what their impact is on climate, and how they have that impact. The info is there; now we just have to unpack it."
California Institute of Technology
More Deep-sea Discovery Current Events and Deep-sea Discovery News Articles
 |
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea: The History and Discovery of the World's Richest Shipwreck by Gary Kinder (Author) Ship of Gold tells the story of the sinking of the SS Central America, a side-wheel steamer carrying nearly six hundred passengers returning from the California Gold Rush, two hundred miles off the Carolina coast in September 1857. Over four hundred lives and twenty-one tons of California gold were lost. It was the worst peacetime disaster at sea in American history, a tragedy that remained lost in legend for over a century. In the 1980s, a young engineer from Ohio set out to do what no one, not even the United States Navy, had been able to do: establish a working presence on the deep-ocean floor and open it to science, archaeology, history, medicine, and recovery. The SS Central America became the target of his project. After years of intensive efforts, Tommy Thompson and the... |
 |
Deep Sea Diving, Inflight Catering, Stretched Limos Also With: Discovery Channel (Producer) |
 |
Run Silent, Run Deep Starring: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Don Rickles Directed By: Robert Wise Also With: Russell Harlan (Cinematographer), Harold Hecht (Producer), William Schorr (Producer), Edward L. Beach (Writer), John Gay (Writer) "Rich" Richardson (Clark Gable) is a hard-driving, dedicated submarine officer with a single-mindedpurposeto seek out and smash the Japanese destroyer he believes sank his former ship. Given a new command, Richardson drills his men to the point of mutiny as he relentlessly trains them for the battle ahead. At last, word comes of the destroyer's position, and, disobeying orders, Richardson finally confronts his foe, unaware that an even greater enemy lurks nearby...one who's been targeting him for a watery grave. Co-starring Burt Lancaster as Gable's executive officer, this gripping WWII adventure-thriller set a new standard for submarine pictures. "Severely, nail-bitingly tense" (The New York Times), Run Silent, Run Deep is the most exciting film about the "silent service" ever made. |
 |
Vtech Voyager Adventure Pack Deep Sea Discoveries by VTECH |
 |
Discovery Channel - Shipwreck !: Deep Sea Rescue - USS Squalus |
 |
Seashore Discovery by Lisa Danielle. ART PRINT ON CANVAS with 3/4 inch deep bars. 6.43 inches width by 18.40 inches height. Highest Quality Art Poster Print by OnlineWall Art and Framing Seashore Discovery by Lisa Danielle. Total Size: 6.43 inches width by 18.40 inches height. This is the Highest Quality Art Print Reproduction of the Original Work. Full Authorized by the Artist. Transfer Stretched on Canvas with 3/4 Inch Deep Bars with either Museum Wrap or Gallery Wrap. Canvas Transfer with the museum wrap method (image goes to the edge of the surface, plain white sides) or the gallery wrap method (image wraps around the edge, and continues back toward the wall). After completion of your order email or call us about your wrapping preference otherwise Museum wrap will be the default. OnlineWall is the worlds best quality art print, poster and framing store with over 25 years custom framing experience our quality of art prints cannot be beat (800) 210-0194. |
 |
"Hood" and "Bismarck": The Deep-sea Discovery of an Epic Battle by David Mearns (Author), Rob White (Author) The meeting of Bismarck and HMS Hood in 1941 ended with the destruction of the two battleships and the loss of 3500 lives. The Bismarck had only been on the seas for six days, and within minutes of the battle had sunk the Hood, which went down in just three-and-a-half minutes. In retaliaton the British sent every available ship and plane to destroy Bismarck. Only nine days after she first set sail she was destroyed. For six years David Mearns and his team at Blue Water Recoveries have been researching the position of HMS Hood. Tieing in to the 60th anniversary of the battle, the book is a mixture of history and adventure and inclues interviews with survivors of both ships. Illustrated throughout with state-of-the-art underwater photography of the wrecks, computer graphics and sonar scans,... |
 |
The Nightmare in the Sea of Trees Directed By: Hiroshi Watanabe Also With: Sakura Kinoshita (Producer), Kazuko Higashiyama (Producer) |
 |
The Silent Deep: The Discovery, Ecology, and Conservation of the Deep Sea by Tony Koslow (Author) The Silent Deep tells the story of the exploration and discovery of the deep sea, the ecology of its diverse environments, and the impact of humans, highlighting the importance of global stewardship in keeping this delicate ecosystem alive and well. Written by world renowned deep-sea ecologist Tony Koslow, this book is a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the state of the deep sea today, accessible to anyone interested in ocean science, the story of scientific discovery, and conservation of the earth’s most threatened ecosystems.
“Koslow deals a decisive blow to the notion that the deep sea can ever be immune from... |
 |
Deep Star Six Starring: Greg Evigan, Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Miguel Ferrer, Nia Peeples Directed By: Sean S. Cunningham Also With: Sean S. Cunningham (Producer), Mario Kassar (Producer), Patrick Markey (Producer), Andrew G. Vajna (Producer), Lewis Abernathy (Writer), Geof Miller (Writer) |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |