Oceans & Coasts: Aboard a Modern Ship of Discovery
To COMPLETE this quest, visit the Okeanos Explorer Web page, check out videos and mission logs from one or more Okeanos Explorer expeditions, and then produce a Creative Reflection demonstrating the MISSION of the Okeanos Explorer. What will they be doing? What will they be learning about? WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN, HOW?
Website
Website
The Gulf of Mexico 2012 Expedition
The NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer is a ship of discovery. Scientists and technicians work together and use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and other sensors to conduct investigations and future discoveries.
March to April 2012: a team of scientists and technicians both at-sea and on shore will conduct exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In coming weeks, they expect to explore cold seeps, deep coral communities, undersea canyons, shipwrecks – and perhaps even mud volcanos and brine pools.
Throughout the journey, an intern writes a detailed mission logs and updates. They have explored the depths of the ocean on a number of different ships with variety of deep-sea vehicles. Their role in this mission is to document deep-sea coral abundance, diversity, health, and condition. They mark the position of coral colonies by dropping virtual targets using the ship's excellent navigation system. The ROV team has used Little Hercules and Serios to film vibrant deep-water communities of rare corals, anemone, invertebrates, fish, and sponges.
March to April 2012: a team of scientists and technicians both at-sea and on shore will conduct exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In coming weeks, they expect to explore cold seeps, deep coral communities, undersea canyons, shipwrecks – and perhaps even mud volcanos and brine pools.
Throughout the journey, an intern writes a detailed mission logs and updates. They have explored the depths of the ocean on a number of different ships with variety of deep-sea vehicles. Their role in this mission is to document deep-sea coral abundance, diversity, health, and condition. They mark the position of coral colonies by dropping virtual targets using the ship's excellent navigation system. The ROV team has used Little Hercules and Serios to film vibrant deep-water communities of rare corals, anemone, invertebrates, fish, and sponges.
..continuation
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is studying volume estimates of oil and gas naturally released into the Gulf of Mexico, and is also interested in locating deep-water chemosynthetic and coral communities. Scientists witnessed numerous instances where gas bubbles suddenly erupted from the seafloor as Little Herc passed by. Exciting seafloor features were discovered: underwater rivers and ponds of liquid brine. Salt occurs in thick layers in the Gulf of Mexico is deposited millions of years ago and subsequently buried deep under sediments washed out from North America by the Mississippi River system.
The third and final cruise of the Okeanos Explorer’s 2012 Gulf of Mexico Expedition had three primary objectives:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1202/about.html
The third and final cruise of the Okeanos Explorer’s 2012 Gulf of Mexico Expedition had three primary objectives:
- to begin to quantify the fluxes from naturally occurring (hydrocarbon) seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, to ground truth acoustic evidence from this area that plumes of bubbles are rising from the seafloor in many locations;
- to dive on, image, and document known and suspected shipwreck sites; and
- to explore interesting geological provinces, while describing the associated biological communities associated with them. All three objectives were met.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1202/about.html