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Tag: hydrothermal vents

Giant tube worms dwell in the deep places beneath the ocean floor.

Posted on October 18, 2024October 30, 2024 By Andrew Thaler
Giant tube worms dwell in the deep places beneath the ocean floor.
Featured, Science

Giant deep-sea tube worms. When the RV Knorr arrived above Galapagos Rift in 1977, a team of geologists, geochemists, and geophysicist, including Robert Ballard who would go on to locate the wreck of the Titanic among other ocean-shaping discoveries) was prepared to witness something never before seen: a geyser of superheated, chemical rich water erupting … Read More “Giant tube worms dwell in the deep places beneath the ocean floor.” »

We need to know more about microplastics in the deep sea.

Posted on March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 By Andrew Thaler
Science

Establishing a baseline for microplastic accumulation in deep-sea animals using an historical sample archive: https://experiment.com/projects/establishing-a-baseline-for-microplastic-accumulation-in-deep-sea-animals-using-an-historical-sample-archive Most of the plastic that enters our oceans in unaccounted for. While large, charismatic macroplastics float on or just beneath the surface, making for dramatic scenes of vast swaths of garbage littering the sea, the bulk of the plastic in … Read More “We need to know more about microplastics in the deep sea.” »

What we’ve missed in the Abyss: Mining 40 years of cruise reports for biodiversity and research effort data from deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Posted on August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Science

“When the RV Knorr set sail for the Galapagos Rift in 1977, the geologists aboard eagerly anticipated observing a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field for the first time. What they did not expect to find was life—abundant and unlike anything ever seen before. A series of dives aboard the HOV Alvin during that expedition revealed not only deep-sea hydrothermal vents but fields of clams and the towering, bright red tubeworms that would become icons of the deep sea. So unexpected was the discovery of these vibrant ecosystems that the ship carried no biological preservatives. The first specimens from the vent field that would soon be named “Garden of Eden” were fixed in vodka from the scientists’ private reserves.”

Thaler and Amon 2019

In the forty years since that first discovery, hundreds of research expedition ventured into the deep oceans to study and understand the ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. In doing so, they discovered thousands of new species, unraveled the secrets of chemosynthesis, and fundamentally altered our understanding of what it means to be alive on this planet. Now, as deep-sea mining crawls slowly towards production, we must transform those discoveries into conservation and management principles to safeguard the diversity and resilience of life in the deep sea.

Biodiversity of hydrothermal vents from around the world. Top: Indian Ocean, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Bottom: East Pacific Rise, Southwest Pacific, Southern Ocean. Photo credits (top left to bottom right): University of Southampton; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Ocean Networks Canada; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Nautilus Minerals; University of Southampton.
Biodiversity of hydrothermal vents from around the world. Top: Indian Ocean, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Bottom: East Pacific Rise, Southwest Pacific, Southern Ocean. Photo credits (top left to bottom right): University of Southampton; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Ocean Networks Canada; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Nautilus Minerals; University of Southampton.

Though research at hydrothermal vents looms large in the disciplines of deep-sea science, relative to almost any terrestrial system, they are practically unexplored. Over the last 2 years, Drs. Andrew Thaler and Diva Amon have poured through every available cruise report that made a biological observation at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent to assess how disproportionate research effort shapes or perception of hydrothermal vent ecosystems and impacts how we make management decisions in the wake of a new form of anthropogenic disturbance.

Read More “What we’ve missed in the Abyss: Mining 40 years of cruise reports for biodiversity and research effort data from deep-sea hydrothermal vents.” »

Get into the spirit of Adventure: 10 Expeditions to follow in 2019

Posted on December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Exploration, Open Science

The Aquarius Project: The First Student-Driven Underwater Meteorite Hunt

Pirates! Robots! Meteors! A team of plucky teenage explorers! If this doesn’t end up as a feature film, I’ll eat my red watch cap.

On Monday, February 6, 2017 a meteorite dropped out of space and dropped right into Lake Michigan. Since then, a team of young explorers sponsored by the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium have been combing the lake for the lost meteorite. Catch up with this epic adventure through their podcast and on OpenExplorer. The search continues into 2019.

Iceland’s Shallow Hydrothermal Vents

Not all hydrothermal vents emerge in the deep sea. Of the coast of Iceland, shallow water vent spew forth their hydrothermal plumes in the shallows, where small underwater robots can easy access. You’d think we’d know more about them than their deep ocean counterparts but we actually know less.

Iceland’s Shallow Hydrothermal Vents hopes to fill in some of our understanding of these weird and wonderful ecosystems.

Search for Slave Shipwrecks

On a hot summer day in the murky waters of the man-made Millbrook Quarry in Northern Virginia, a group of about 25 people outfitted in scuba gear take turns going down to a depth of 30 feet, testing their compass reading skills, flooding their masks and practicing emergency ascents without air. The sight is not so unusual since Millbrook is the main training and certification site for scuba divers in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area and often hosts such groups. What might give folks pause, however, is that upon closer look they may notice that all 25 of the divers are African American. And if they chat with this unexpected bunch, they might also find that a majority are certified and qualified to search for, document and help excavate slave trade shipwrecks.

Search for Slave Shipwrecks

Divers with Purpose and the Slave Wrecks Project will be traveling across Africa and the Caribbean documenting the stories of underwater archaeologists working to preserve the history of the Atlantic slave trade buried at sea.

From Search for Slave Shipwrecks.

Read More “Get into the spirit of Adventure: 10 Expeditions to follow in 2019” »

Youth v Gov, thinking about oysters, how to talk climate change to radicalized conservatives, delightful dumbo octopuses, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 29, 2018.

Posted on October 29, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • The kids are alright. I’m suing the U.S. government for causing the climate change crisis #YouthVGov.
  • This fleet of underwater robots will help citizen scientists make the case for ocean conservation. Find out how you can get yours through the SEE Initiative!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • The Deepest Volcanic Eruption Ever Documented Left a Gnarly Sight on the Ocean Floor.

A lava flow detected in the Mariana back-arc that’s evidence for the deepest historic eruption ever detected. Photo: Courtesy Bill Chadwick
A lava flow detected in the Mariana back-arc that’s evidence for the deepest historic eruption ever detected. Photo: Courtesy Bill Chadwick.

  • This comic comes at you like a kick in the teeth. Can Climate Science Be Rendered Conservative-Friendly? How to pitch environmentalism to climate change deniers.

Read More “Youth v Gov, thinking about oysters, how to talk climate change to radicalized conservatives, delightful dumbo octopuses, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 29, 2018.” »

How goats got the bends, a new ship for VIMS, a new deep-sea submersible for all of us, our looming destruction, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 15, 2018.

Posted on October 15, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • It ain’t going to be easy, but it isn’t over yet and none of us have earned the right to quit. What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Goats are magnificent. We don’t deserve goats. The Dark Story of How Scientists Used Goats to Solve the Bends.

Bends in the foreleg of a goat after experiments performed by physiologist John S. Haldane, published in the Journal of Hygiene Vol. 8, 1908.
Bends in the foreleg of a goat after experiments performed by physiologist John S. Haldane, published in the Journal of Hygiene Vol. 8, 1908.

  • There’s a new full-ocean capable submarine in town, and for $50 million, you could buy it! Discovery and Science Channel to Document the Five Deeps Expedition in Limited Series.

Submersible. Photo courtesy Discovery.
Photo courtesy Discovery.

Read More “How goats got the bends, a new ship for VIMS, a new deep-sea submersible for all of us, our looming destruction, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 15, 2018.” »

A new disaster in Ocean Policy, follow the International Marine Conservation Congress at #IMCC5, shallow vents, deep mining, cotton candy lobsters, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: June 25, 2018

Posted on June 25, 2018June 24, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • We have a new National Ocean Policy and it is exactly as bad as you would expect. I’m at the International Marine Conservation Congress (the largest ocean conservation meeting in the world) and not a single ocean professional from anywhere on the political spectrum thinks this new Ocean Policy is a good idea.
  • Follow along with the International Marine Conservation Congress on Instagram, Oceansocial.us, and Twitter.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Smoking Ocean Vents Found in Surprisingly Shallow Water.

https://vimeo.com/276100766

  • How Does a German Chemical Company Have a Patent on Sperm Whales?

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

  • Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Denies Insider Trading in Short Sale of Russia-Linked Shipping Company. And then: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Short Sale of Kremlin-Linked Shipping Firm Navigator Holdings Wins Ethics Approval. This seems fine and normal and on the level.

Read More “A new disaster in Ocean Policy, follow the International Marine Conservation Congress at #IMCC5, shallow vents, deep mining, cotton candy lobsters, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: June 25, 2018” »

Bone-eating Jabba worms, the world’s deepest plastic bag, new shipwrecks, climate change art, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 14, 2018.

Posted on May 14, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Yale study: Newspaper op-eds change minds and The Long-lasting Effects of Newspaper Op-Eds on Public Opinion. Scientists and conservationists, this May, make an effort to publish a Letter to the Editor or OpEd in your local paper. If you’ve done so, please leave a link to it in the comments.
  • How to save the high seas: As the United Nations prepares a historic treaty to protect the oceans, scientists highlight what’s needed for success.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • No commentary needed: Eyeless, Mouthless, Bone-Eating Worm Named After Jabba the Hutt.

Osedax worms growing on the vertebrae of a dead whale.
Photo: 2006 MBARI

  • Every ocean, every dive, every time, trash: Plastic Bag Found at the Bottom of World’s Deepest Ocean Trench.

Read More “Bone-eating Jabba worms, the world’s deepest plastic bag, new shipwrecks, climate change art, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 14, 2018.” »

Hagfish, chill Puffins, swamp monsters, the mining boat floats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 2, 2018

Posted on April 2, 2018March 31, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Want to help stem the tide of misinformation online and off? Do you have it all figured out and just need resources to implement your world-saving solution? The Rita Allen Foundation is looking for Solutions to Curb the Spread of Misinformation.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Hagfish. Tough. Lovable. Slimy. But not too slimy. Hagfish Take Weeks to Recover from Sliming Someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmaal7Hf0WA

  • Kevin D’Angelo integrated the OpenCTD with a new protocol for detecting salinity using the gold pins of a microUSB controller and I am blown away! Outstanding work.
  • This is a puffin wearing sunglasses for science.

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

  • Installed as a beacon of hope for a hurricane-racked island, the statue had to be moved multiple times due to the eroding coast: Our Lady of the Sea by Russel Arnott.
  • Russell also created these outstanding posters to warn us away from Louisiana’s famed and fearsome swamp ghosts:

Beware the Feu Follet, by Russell Arnott

Read More “Hagfish, chill Puffins, swamp monsters, the mining boat floats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 2, 2018” »

Open Science in Africa, defend the ADA, the value of the outdoors, Minke whale rides, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 19, 2018.

Posted on February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Sign up for AfricaOSH: The Africa Open Science Hardware Gathering and meet some of the most incredible, innovative technologists in the world!
  • Remember when the disability community put their bodies on the line to defend the Affordable Care Act? Remember the videos of people in wheelchairs being handcuffed outside Mitch McConnell’s office? Last week, the House voted to gut the Americans with Disabilities Act. There’s no bill in the Senate yet, but the time to mobilize is now. Call your Senators and defend the ADA.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • In the annuals of obvious thing that still need to be said: protecting wild places is better for Americans and better for the economy than strip mining them. Outdoor Recreation Is a Bigger Economic Booster Than Mining.
  • The Cousteau Society shares a great little clip of all the great Cousteau tech.

Read More “Open Science in Africa, defend the ADA, the value of the outdoors, Minke whale rides, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 19, 2018.” »

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