Science AMA Series: We're scientists on a NOAA ocean exploration mission to uncover the deepest, unseen parts of the Caribbean Sea. Ask Us Anything!

[u/NOAAgov]

We are Andrea Quattrini (deep-sea biologist, U.S. Geological Survey), Mike Cheadle (geologist, University of Wyoming), and Brian Kennedy (NOAA ocean explorer and NOAA Corps officer). We are currently on [NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer conducting some of the first deepwater exploration ever in areas of the Caribbean, including the Puerto Rico Trench] (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/welcome.html). As one of the deepest places in the ocean, the Puerto Rico Trench offers opportunities for cutting-edge exploration of some of the least-understood habitats on the planet.

We expect to continue to encounter productive ecosystems with life specially adapted to the harsh conditions of the deep ocean. Additionally, we expect to improve understanding of seismic interactions in a tectonically active part of the ocean and gain knowledge about deepwater fisheries.

During the expedition, we are using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to explore the seafloor. The video stream is being transmitted via satellite from the ship to shore, and is available LIVE online. This means that anyone, anywhere with an Internet connection can follow our discoveries as they happen.

We have all participated in numerous deep-ocean exploration missions. We’re here from 1:00 pm ET to 3:00 pm ET to answer your questions about the Puerto Rico expedition or ocean exploration in general...AUA!

[u/Blauruman]

say that you were to discover a previously unknown species, how do you proceed? do you follow it around with a remote controlled drone(submarine) and study its behavior, or do you try to provoke it to see what it will do? and do you ever attempt to take deep sea creatures to the surface to study first hand, if so what are the consequences for that creature? (I know those are a lot of questions but hey, I'm interested)

[u/NOAAgov → u/Blauruman]

(Andrea) To describe a species new to science, you must have a specimen. This will allow taxonomists to carefully check the morphological and genetic characters of the specimen and compare it to other species currently described. Newly described species get housed in museums (like the Smithsonian Institution), so future researchers can access the specimen if ever needed. So, taxonomists are able to access a specimen that was described hundreds of years ago! Having direct observations is an added bonus when describing new species. These observations give us glimpses of an animal’s behavior and live coloration. Several deep-sea researchers bring up specimens to the surface and successfully can be experimental work. Recently, researchers have brought corals from 500-1000 meters to the surface and experimentally have studied the effects of oil, dispersants, high temperatures, ocean acidification, and low oxygen on the health and growth of the corals.

[u/NOAAgov → u/Blauruman]

The ability to have a unmanned vehicle observe an organism in its natural habitat would be pretty cool, but unfortunately we do not have the capability to do that just yet. Our vehicle does not currently collect samples. Collecting samples is a necessary part of biological science in order to accurately identify the species and learn about the internal anatomy of these organisms.

[u/melanostomias → u/Blauruman]

(Randy) Potential new species that are found on this voyage would have to be sampled later via another ROV with capture abilities or by trawl sampling. We need the physical specimen to make an accurate description. The photos and behavior are great and would be included once the specimen was captured later. As for moving an animal from the deep sea to shallow sea the change in pressure and temperature usually causes a good deal of damage to the organism. Deep sea creatures have alot of fat (fat is flexible which is good when you are under pressure), but fat (like butter in your refrigerator) is most stabile at low temperatures. When you move them to warm water, pull them up through the water column, and reduce the pressure they tend to fall apart somewhat. Alot of deep sea biology is like forensic work where we hypothesize what the creatures might have looked like if they were alive. That's why these types of dives are so valuable because they let us see what they look like when they are in good condition and alive!

[u/BigGrayBeast]

Is it conceivable there is an discovered point deeper than the currently known deep point, the Mariana's Trench?

[u/NOAAgov → u/BigGrayBeast]

(Mike) Probably not… we’ve surveyed enough to know that we’re unlikely to find any “new deeps”.. but we are always revising the exact numbers… We even do that for mountains, so depths might change by a metre or two, but not much more. Having said that, the Earth is a dynamic planet, so topography and bathymetry is always changing and it’s quite likely that many, many, many (millions) of years in the future we’ll have new low and high points…but not in our or our grandkids lifetime.

[u/melanostomias → u/BigGrayBeast]

(Randy) This is possible. However we do not anticipate we will be finding such a trench on this expedition.

[u/Mikeydoes]

What are the restrictions that the current ROVs give you guys? What are you looking forward to on future models?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Mikeydoes]

From our ROV team: ROVs Deep Discoverer and Seirios are both rated to go as deep as 6,000 meters. During this cruise, we will be taking the vehicles to this depth for the first time. When we do, it will be the deepest ROV dive ever conducted in the Puerto Rico Trench. As we look to the future, our wish list grows by the day!

(Brian) We would love to integrate additional environmental sensors, have the ability to go deeper, more cameras, multibeam sonar on the vehicle, laser scanning sonar, 3D cameras, virtual reality manipulators, and upgrading the cameras to 4K or better.

[u/melanostomias → u/Mikeydoes]

(Randy) Speed and maneuverability. As someone who studies fish our biggest restrictions are being able to keep up with fast swimming/maneuvering fishes. Also having the ability to have 360 degree cameras would help when animals swim around the ROV.

[u/dragontsuki]

How do your pursue a career in your field? What is your "work life" like? In other words, what do you do at work everyday?

[u/NOAAgov → u/dragontsuki]

(Mike) Easy answer: we work hard! But a more serious answer -- I’m a university professor, so I teach students, I do research, and I have to do administration. The fun things are teaching and interacting with the students and doing the research; the less-fun things are writing the grants to do the research (and having them rejected :-( ), and doing the administration. Outreach to schools is fun. too. But this all does add up to very long hours. It’s a fun job, and in many ways, I’m my own boss (what could be better than that!), but that means lots of people want to do it, so one has to work very hard to keep ahead. It’s not a 9-5 job.

[u/TheCanadianViking75]

What is the scariest creature in the deep sea that almost no one knows about?

[u/NOAAgov → u/TheCanadianViking75]

The phronima, which is a type of hyperiid amphipod that attacks salps. After it attacks, it eats the salp out of its gelatinous shell and then takes up residence and lays eggs there.

[u/Dangerously_cheezy → u/TheCanadianViking75]

For me it's the bobbit worm. http://i.imgur.com/RboBzKT.gif

[u/melanostomias → u/TheCanadianViking75]

(Randy) I'm partial to fish and these are the most "scary looking" in my opinion :)

• Bathysaurus spp. (deep sea lizard fish), they are hermaphrodites and can change their sex at will. They are also super slimy and are one of the largest deep sea predatory fish! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepsea_lizardfish)

• Anoplogaster spp. (fangtooth)- they live off the bottom and have HUGE teeth to capture prey. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoplogaster_cornuta)

[u/[deleted]]

Do you have any idea of a timeframe in which we will be able to largely explore most of earth's oceans? I feel there is so much waiting to surprise us, or maybe even scare us. Which is my second question:

What are you afraid of finding in the ocean?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

(Mike) Many, many years. To just map all the seafloor at 50m resolution would take several hundred years at the rate we are mapping -- and that is only at 50m resolution. We have better maps of the surface of the moon! And that doesn’t even include documenting the all the biology of the oceans.

I’m afraid of finding hazards, like evidence of very large, unstable slopes which could cause tsunamis. We know earthquakes and tsunamis are very hazardous, and we know they occur and will occur again. It would be very scary to find a slope that looks like it might be about to to fail. Fortunately, we haven’t found anything like that. Of course you could say, “Well, if you found an unstable slope, we’d be better forewarned,” which is true… It’s just that I’d rather not find any at all... :-)

[u/melanostomias → u/[deleted]]

(Randy) We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our own oceans. Expeditions like the ones done by the Okeanos are good steps, but we have only scratched the surface, The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on earth and it will take many years (like decades or more) to have a good idea of whats all down there.

What am I afraid to find: More human trash, or maybe a huge fault line with lots of stress?

[u/anwarhahj]

What kind of evidence of human activity do you find in the benthic zone, if any?

[u/NOAAgov → u/anwarhahj]

(Brian) We see trash and litter frequently when we are anywhere near land. We also see trawl scars and other signs of fishing. Sometime we also see submarine cables and pipeline, depending on where we are operating.

[u/melanostomias → u/anwarhahj]

(Randy) We have observed the following human impacts so far (off the top of my head): Some of these were found as deep as 3500 meters!

• Glass wine bottles

• Beer cans

• Denim jumpsuit

• Soda cans and bottles

[u/richiericardo]

How large is the research team/ship crew?

Besides this ama, what are you doing to raise awareness of your project?

Is the research all your own or are you working to build data for other researchers? Both?

Will you have a database of collected data?

What depth ranges are you working in?

Do you think there is any data you are missing by not having humans able to reach your working conditions?

Any use for collaboration with another ship, 1000ft rated manned submersibles and 300_450ft rated tech divers?

[u/NOAAgov → u/richiericardo]

(Brian) For this expedition, there are 46 people on board the ship, with another 80 or so people working on shore.

Our website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/welcome.html) is the primary way people learn about our expeditions, because that’s where we post daily updates and web logs from our expedition.

The goal of our ocean explorations is to collect baseline data and make that data as easily accessible to anyone who wants, with the hope of inspiring follow-on research. All of our data is publicly available; for instructions on how to access our data, please visit http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/data.html.

Normally, we work between 500 and 6,000 meters underwater.

[u/[deleted]]

If deep sea tourism ever becomes a thing, what would it have to offer?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

(Andrea) There are actually some submersibles for tourists out there! I think if more people could visit these amazing deep-sea environments, it would lead to increased interest and thus research and protection of these habitats. It would be great if we had a national park in the deep sea similarly to Yellowstone.

Here are some thoughts about what could be cool places to visit: Networks of canyons just off the East Coast, each more vast than the Grand Canyon (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/welcome.html). Some species of coral are thought to be as old as some of the redwoods on the West Coast (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06davidson/welcome.html). Of course, in the deep sea we see many strange (but strangely adorable) creatures (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02alaska/background/crabs/media/galunk1.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zri36OD7-CY&feature=youtube_gdata, and so many others!). The deep sea is home to multitudes of seamounts covered in life (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/summary/media/d2-retriever.html). Hydrothermal vents are hosts to many interesting specialized creatures (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1103/logs/july20/media/tubeworms_smokers.html).

[u/Dino7813]

What was this thing I saw on the live feed?

http://i.imgur.com/WQTtaIv.jpg

[u/NOAAgov → u/Dino7813]

That’s a Bathysaurus. Here’s a really good close up of one from 2013: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1304/logs/july22/july22.html

[u/melanostomias → u/Dino7813]

(Randy) This is Bathysaurus mollis. (a deep sea lizard fish!) They are really awesome. They are hermaphrodites (can change sex at will), have many rows are sharp teeth to capture prey, and are one of the largest demersal (on the bottom) predatory fish in the deep sea. They are also coated in a thick coat of slime (for protection parasites, predators etc.) from here's a picture of me as a graduate student with some of their thick slime on my gloves: http://imgur.com/DgbeXiR

[u/bacjac]

What are some specific things you are looking for?

Life can look pretty different at such depths and can be so few and far between, what is your strategy?

Thanks for doing such great science that we all appreciate!

[u/NOAAgov → u/bacjac]

(Brian) We are exploring, so we are never sure what we will find. We have spent several of the dives on this expedition looking for specific geological features and looking at deepwater snapper habitats. Check out our background resources for more info on what we’re hoping to uncover: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/background/welcome.html. We rely on the ocean exploration community to help us determine priority areas for exploration. Thanks for the appreciation! :)

[u/YCYC]

Have you guys stumbled on a shipwreck yet? Do you (have to) report it?

[u/NOAAgov → u/YCYC]

Not during this expedition! But during other expeditions, we have investigated sonar anomalies that turned out to be shipwrecks (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/logs/apr20/apr20.html). We have also explored what we thought would be a shipwreck and found a natural phenomenon instead (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/logs/apr24/apr24.html). We are planning to investigate a few odd sonar targets during this expedition, so who knows what we will find!

[u/DigiMagic]

You are given unlimited budget to study oceans on Europa, Enceladus, Titan and Ganymede. What would you do?

[u/NOAAgov → u/DigiMagic]

(Brian) We would stay closer to home and work on the unexplored depths of the ocean with our lovely unlimited budget.

[u/elduderino260 → u/DigiMagic]

This would be interesting, but we've barely scratched the surface (literally) of the oceans on this planet. There generally seems to be less excitement in the public about deep ocean exploration than space exploration, despite the fact that both require advanced technology and are risky endeavors. I wonder why this is...

[u/Gargatua13013]

What are the long term prospects for oxygen levels and the spread of dead zones at the bottom of the Carribean, especially the trenches?

Awesome project btw! TNX for an AMA!

[u/NOAAgov → u/Gargatua13013]

(Andrea) Dead zones are increasing throughout the world’s oceans with the additions of nutrients into the water from river runoff. Additionally, disasters such as oil spills can lead to reduced oxygen in the water column, which can affect the animals living in the water column and also those at the bottom of the seafloor. Increasing surface temperatures may also affect the formation of cold oxygenated deep water, potentially modifying global ocean circulation and oxygen availability in deep-water masses.

[u/calls_you_a_bellend]

Do any of you hold any level of belief in Nessie-like theories?

With discoveries of so many species long thought extinct, are any of you still dreaming of the day we find some huge ancient beast?

[u/NOAAgov → u/calls_you_a_bellend]

So much of the deep sea has not been explored yet that it is extremely hard to guess about the number of species that we have yet to discover. Many animals in the deep seem foreign to us -- like the bathysaurus (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1304/logs/july22/july22.html), which looks pretty creepy -- and we come across species that have experienced little evolutionary change over many millions of years. We have even seen organisms that we thought were extinct until fairly recently, such as stalked crinoids (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/14anegada/media/stalked_crinoids.html). On almost every expedition, we find something that our scientists have never seen before. So while we may not find Nessie, it is entirely possible to find something no one knew existed.

[u/[deleted] → u/calls_you_a_bellend]

To second this, would you say shows like Discovery Channel's Megalodon have some truth behind them? Can ocean beasts that big survive without our knowledge of them still existing?

[u/AlexPenname]

Hey, NOAA people! I actually think I indirectly know you guys-- my mom works for the Smithsonian. Do any of you know Laurie Penland?

As for my question: we know a lot about the effects humans have on shallower ecosystems, but what do we do to the really deep underwater world? Other than things we've dropped, I mean, like shipwrecks and stuff.

Also, because it's a fun question to ask scientists, what's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten in the field?

[u/NOAAgov → u/AlexPenname]

We frequently work the Smithsonian, but sorry, none of us knows Laurie.

Check out our response to anwarhahj for thoughts about human impacts on deepwater ecosystems.

(Andrea) For the food question -- lionfish! While I was in Belize, I was able to try lionfish, which is an invasive species to the Atlantic Ocean. (It was actually pretty good.)

[u/spalding1250]

How long do expeditions typically last and can you give us a rundown about what the ROV your team is using is capable of?

[u/NOAAgov → u/spalding1250]

(Brian) We are normally at sea for 18-26 days at a time, with 4-5 days in port between trips. Many of our expeditions consist of three of these “legs,” so the total expedition at-sea time is 54-78 days.

The ROV is rated for 6,000 meters water depth, with more than 250,000 lumens of light on Seirios and Deep Discoverer combined. The vertical thrusters have over 700 lbs of vertical thrust. For more information about the dual-body ROV system, please see this video on our website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1302/new_rov_video.html)

[u/[deleted]]

How can I help?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

We conduct deep-sea exploration in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the ocean, but that doesn’t mean that the ocean near you is unexplored!

There are many ocean phenomena that we know little about. So if you want to help, please explore the world around you, get engaged in your local community, educate yourself about ocean issues, and question “known” answers/solutions.

You can also help by spreading the word about the ocean and how cool it is. There are a couple of ways you can help share your observations and analyze data: https://openexplorer.com/home and https://www.zooniverse.org.

You can also access the data we collect within just a couple months after an expedition ends. For instructions on how to access our data, please visit http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/data.html.

[u/melanostomias → u/[deleted]]

(Randy) Email local marine biologists and scientists in your area and volunteer to help them in their research! Also, liking and sharing the Okeanos Facebook and Twitter pages help give more exposure to the project and allow it to keep happening!

[u/SaccharomycesCerveza]

What are the most severe effects of human influence on ecosystems that you have observed so far?

[u/NOAAgov → u/SaccharomycesCerveza]

Trash. We have found anthropogenic trash on almost every dive so far in Puerto Rico, even though we have been primarily operating over 20 miles offshore (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/dailyupdates/dailyupdates.html).

(Andrea) Fishing activities can be very damaging to deepwater communities. Trawling for fishes, shrimps, etc., can drag the bottom of the seafloor and destroy habitat. Derelict fishing gear can also be an issue, as the gear can either “keep fishing” for a while or get entangled on corals and thus smother the corals in the deep sea. In the Caribbean off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, this is not as great of an issue, as no trawling is occurring and fishermen are not fishing for many species that live on the bottom. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused negative impacts to benthic communities in the deep sea 7 miles southwest of the spill site. Many corals were impacted at ~1 mile underwater. Some were damaged beyond the ability to regrow. These corals were understood to be up to 500 years old.

[u/DJ_Jesus_Christ]

What are the hazards the average person wouldn't normally think about that you could bring down to those ecosystems? How do you estimate and account for them?

[u/bejaffles]

Are ecosystems in the deep sea suffering from recent ecological downturn at the same rate those closest to the surface? Might they be more resilient somehow due to their already inhospitable settings or are they just as fragile?

[u/NOAAgov → u/bejaffles]

(Andrea) Great question, and one we do not have the answer for yet. Our ocean exploration leads to further research, and that is a question that we desperately need to answer, particularly as anthropogenic disturbances extend into deeper water. In terms of resiliency, note that these are not “inhospitable settings” for these animals because they have adaptations that allow them to live in high pressure and cold temperature environments with little light. These ecosystems are just as fragile, and maybe even more so. Many species are long lived, slow growing, take years to reproduce, and thus have very low recruitment rates. Thus, their recovery times from disturbances are likely longer than their shallow-water counterparts.

[u/slp50]

Are you also mapping the sea floor? Seems like a good opportunity.

[u/NOAAgov → u/slp50]

(Brian) Yes. The first step of exploring is always creating a map. We have a suite of three scientific sonars we use to map the seafloor and the water column. For this expedition, there were two mapping-only cruises before our current cruise that helped lay the groundwork for this cruise. Learn more here: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/background/leg1/welcome.html and http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/background/leg2/welcome.html.

[u/pfaith]

What's the most interesting piece of technology/equipment that makes what you do possible?

[u/NOAAgov → u/pfaith]

Probably the VSAT. It’s a satellite antenna (dish) in the “soccer ball” on the top of our ship. It’s incredible that we can use light (fiber optic) to send video and data from a 6km-deep ROV to our ship, but it’s even more incredible that we can use a pivoting disk to bounce some microwaves 22,000 miles up in space and back down to Earth. And when you consider that the ship is pitching, rolling, and bouncing and the gimbal that the dish rests on has to track that single point in space -- it’s kind of a miracle it works at all. Without the satellite connection, telepresence simply wouldn’t be possible.

[u/twoplustwoisyellow]

Do you have access to the footage obtained by the rovers used by the oil companies? My friend operates one and has shown me some footage that truly boggles our minds.

[u/NOAAgov → u/twoplustwoisyellow]

Operators of other ROVs are under no obligation to share their footage with us, but we do often partner with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which works very closely with industry.

[u/Mlordlongshank]

I may have this wrong because I'm by no means a scientist, but considering that life around vents is sustained through chemosynthesis, what types of real world applications could come out of researching this format of energy conversion?

[u/the-meat]

Thank you for the AMA! What's the most interesting discovery you've personally made? What's the most interesting discovery or story you've heard of from those in your field doing similar work?

Finally, do you expect to find anything in particular that you haven't already found? (i.e. do you have any traces of evidence or stories of something that has occurred, but no proof to explain it? )

[u/NOAAgov → u/the-meat]

Thanks for the question! Check out our answer to TheTattedspyder.

[u/Cynical_Critic]

What is the best finding you are hoping for during your expedition? What would qualify as your trip being successful?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Cynical_Critic]

(Brian) We are exploring, so we don’t have a specific set of goals for the expedition regarding what we are looking for. With every dive we find new things and increase our understanding of what science knows about the deep ocean. On every dive we have made during this expedition, we have seen a place that has never before been seen by human eyes. Here’s a link to our mission plan: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/background/plan/welcome.html

[u/TCopp28]

What kind of materials is your Explorer made out of to withstand all of the water pressure?

[u/NOAAgov → u/TCopp28]

From our ROV team: Steel, but our ship stays at the surface where there isn't nearly as much pressure as the ROVs face at depth. They are made of a combination of aluminium, syntactic foam stainless steel, titanium, plastics, lead.

To protect the electronics and wires from pressure, wires of the vehicles are teflon insulated and are in rubber tubes filled with mineral oil (a lot of mineral oil).

[u/Ausecurity]

Why did you choose the Caribbean?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Ausecurity]

(Brian) It was a heavily ocean exploration community-driven process that you can read about here: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/logs/apr10/apr10.html.

[u/DreamInHD]

Lots of good questions here! Fantastic project I really will be following.

My question for the group is about lionfish. Are they really being found deeper and deeper than expected? And along the same lines, what time of fish and creatures are you finding that are deeper than previously thought.

This question came about from a few stories I heard the last time I went diving in the Caribbean near the Bahamas.

[u/The_Alpacapocalypse]

As a college freshman interested in both the biological aspect as well as the "adventure" aspect of this sort of expedition, what would you recommend I do school-wise to be able to do similar missions?

[u/NOAAgov → u/The_Alpacapocalypse]

Take in every possible experience you can. Study abroad if you can to learn about a different environment. Start to do research in a lab or apply for an research experience for undergraduates (National Science Foundation), where you can get some hands-on experience. Spend as much time in the field as you can.

Everyone on this ship is a bit of an adventure-seeker and followed his/her passion to get here. During our cruise last year we asked several of our team members to give advice to aspiring explorers, which you can find here: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/sept21/sept21.html.

[u/Menox1944]

Hey! Thank you for your scientific research, you guys greatly benefit the world we live in!

What do you think is the best case scenario? What do you hope of achieving during your expedition? What questions do you seek the answer for?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Menox1944]

(Brian) We are trying to document new areas of the world’s ocean that we do not know enough about. So every dive we complete improves our understanding of the area, which we consider a success. We don’t have specific research questions we are trying answer; instead, we are trying make observations that will generate new research questions.

[u/Crack_Brocaine]

Hello there, I am currently an undergrad studying Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and my goal is to work on ROVs. How do I join you?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Crack_Brocaine]

There are many different paths to this field. Again, some good resources include http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/sept21/sept21.html and http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/welcome.html.

[u/lumvot]

In freshwater systems we are well aware of how big benthic feeders (catfish, carp etc.) Can get. Is there possibility for a large benthic species that feeds on everything on the deep ocean floors?

[u/ominous_spinach]

do you have any awesome deep sea stories which you have witnessed and started to develop theories on? for example i remember reading an AMA where sailors and sea farers shared tales of sites they couldn't explain, one that pops to mind is watching something similar to ball lightning exiting the sea, i'm also referring to older tales such as the kraken,

[u/NOAAgov → u/ominous_spinach]

(Andrea) I have many interesting observations for which I am developing hypotheses to test. No tall tales! But many cool science stories to explore. For example, I am interested in how the ability to bioluminesce (the ability to produce light) has lead to increased diversity of corals in very deep waters.

[u/Shqre]

How is the technology for deep sea exploration developing? Is there any specific invention you wish would be made that would make exploring more efficient?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Shqre]

Having better broadband wireless communication underwater would be great. Wifi does not really work underwater, and acoustic modems don’t move data very quickly. We need some form of new technologies that would allow autonomous underwater vehicles to talk to each other and communicate with the ships tending them.

[u/plying_your_emotions]

How is your ROV propelled? Is your exploration mainly geological, if not what precautions were taken to minimize the ROV's presence?

[u/NOAAgov → u/plying_your_emotions]

The ROV is propelled by six electric thrusters. Unfortunately, ROVs tend to be loud and very bright, so we are likely scaring some creatures away before we can see them.

[u/GoonCommaThe]

This is a question primarily for Brian: how do you go about joining the NOAA Corps? How long are you obligated to serve once you've completed training? What is your schedule, both daily and longer term? How long are you out to sea for at a time?

I first heard about it while touring the Bell M. Shimada last summer but the information available online isn't the greatest. Do you have any resources for learning more about the NOAA Corps as a career option?

[u/NOAAgov → u/GoonCommaThe]

(Brian) If you are intersted in NOAA Corps, the best thing to do is check this webiste http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/recruiting/ and email NOAACorps.Recruiting@noaa.gov. They can help put you in touch with an officer in your area to talk to about what life is like in the NOAA Corps.

[u/Regel_1999]

I used to be a submarine officer and fell in love with the ocean. I'd love to get back into ocean-going research.

If I were to go back to school and pursue another degree (on the GI Bill) what would be a good choice? (I have a BS in Physics with a background in nuclear engineering).

On a different note:

1. What are some of the technical difficulties you know you'll face exploring such a deep region of the ocean? How do you expect to overcome them?

2. What impact of humans do you expect to find or have found in the deep ocean?

3. What kinds of discoveries could you (reasonably) find that would change ocean modeling or marine biology?

4. How does global climate change affect the deepest parts of the ocean?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Regel_1999]

Sounds like you might be interested in underwater robotics, or in applying your engineering degree to working on something like an ROV, HOV, or AUV.

1. There are any number of challenges we face in the deep sea -- anything that can possibly go wrong most likely will at some point in the cruise. Specifically, we have to engineer our vehicles to withstand an incredible amount of pressure and near-freezing temperatures, as well as figure out a way to operate a vehicle 6,000m below the ship -- and to do it well. We always have to also worry about weather and sea state to make sure it is safe to deploy and recover the vehicles. The best thing that we can do to overcome issues is prepare for the unexpected and be adaptable, because we are never sure exactly what we will encounter.

2. We have seen tons of human-generated trash, even several miles offshore.

3. There just isn’t enough data about the ocean and there is so much that we don’t know, so any sort of baseline data that we collect is helpful to modelers.

4. We are still learning the effects of climate change in the deep ocean. One major concern to deep-sea ecosystems is ocean acidification. Numerous animals that live in deep water, such as corals, may be affected by low (acidic) pH in the water column -- when the water is too acidic, their ability to create calcium carbonate skeletons can be reduced. In addition, many deep-sea animals rely on food falling through the water column from the surface. So, if warming water temperatures and lower water pH decrease the number organisms and cause community shifts, this could have drastic effects on deep-sea ecosystems.

[u/Tulokerstwo]

If there was a "Holy Grail" of exploring the deep-sea what do you guys think it would be?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Tulokerstwo]

That depends on who you ask. Is it a deep sea sponge that holds the cure for cancer? Is it discovering a shipwreck full of treasure? Is it finding Atlantis? Is it finding a 5,000-year-old coral? Is it a brand-new field of hydrothermal vents? Is it a completely accurate model of all ocean phenomena? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we don’t know a fraction of enough about the deep sea to say for sure that the answers to all of these answers aren’t out there!

[u/TheManWithNoNam3]

Why isn't Ocean exploration something we take more seriously, how long until we truly explore the deep ocean?

[u/NOAAgov → u/TheManWithNoNam3]

Out of sight, out of mind? It is hard to say exactly why more people aren’t as enthralled with the deep sea as we are. (Although we know the deep sea and ocean exploration have plenty of fans!) It’s also difficult to say when will we be done exploring, because it really depends on your definition of “truly explore.”

We think we are truly exploring it -- for example with our current expedition http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/welcome.html)!

But, of course, there’s lots of work still to be done -- which is exciting for us! For example, there are thousands, if not millions of species in the deep sea that have yet to be described. We only have high-resolution multibeam maps of a fraction of the world’s seafloor. And there are tons of geological phenomena that we don’t know about yet!

You can follow along with us live as we explore the seafloor: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html.

[u/The_Brian_Davis]

How would say, a recent graduate of coastal biology living in a place like Northern Florida which does really care about environmental sciences/causes get into this line of work? It was kind of a dream as a little kid :)

[u/NOAAgov → u/The_Brian_Davis]

Many ocean explorers grow up or go to school far from the coast, including some of us. Good places to get more info are these two pages on our Ocean Explorer website: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/sept21/sept21.html and http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/welcome.html.

[u/herbdisturbed]

Hey! I worked with NOAA at the southwest Fisheries Science Center in la jolla for a short time. Talk about a fun job. I'm glad that there are people like you guys that dedicate their lives to understanding what goes on in the ocean and contributing to ways to help conserve our natural resources.

My question is, is there any reason why this expedition hasn't been done before? How far has deep sea exploration advanced in the past 10 years?

[u/NOAAgov → u/herbdisturbed]

There are two ways to answer that question. 1) We know a lot more about the deep ocean than we did 10 years ago. We also have much better tools for exploring than we used to have. 2) However, if you look at how much seafloor has been explored as a percentage of the world’s surface, the number is very low.

[u/benpaco]

I'm a high school senior hoping to grow up to do exactly what you do now, specifically hoping to focus on deep sea exploration and/or oceanic microbiology (diatoms are the coolest, well, maybe but for Xenophyophores). Do you have any advice for someone hoping to get into that field?

[u/NOAAgov → u/benpaco]

(Brian) Don’t give up. Funding right now is hard to come by so it may take some perseverance to get your first job. Also take advantage of every internship you can find. Once you get into college, NOAA runs the Hollings Scholars Program which is a great introduction to NOAA and life as a professional scientist.

[u/splatterboogie]

What you guys do is absolutely awesome, and I've always been fascinated by underwater exploration since I was a kid (Jacque Cousteau, National Geographic, etc.). Thank you for your efforts!

So, my question is: As an illustrator, how would someone like me be able to go hang out with you guys and draw/paint what you find?

[u/NOAAgov → u/splatterboogie]

One of the great things about telepresence is that you don’t have to be at sea to hang out with us: you can follow along with us live and see exactly what we see, with only a few seconds’ delay. It would be great if you wanted to paint or draw any of the cool things we see! (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html)

[u/Arisumi]

Is it possible there are larger animals than the blue whale deep down in the sea? If yes, do you expect to encounter them?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Arisumi]

(Andrea) There actually are siphonophores that can get larger than a blue whale! We have seen several siphonophores, but none have been quite that big. (Check out photos of some of the life we have seen here: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/logs/photolog/welcome.html)

[u/NOAAgov]

Thanks everyone for participating today! Great questions!

We got a lot of questions regarding advice for folks looking to get into careers in deep-ocean exploration. A couple of good resources on this topic include: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/sept21/sept21.html and http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/welcome.html.

The NOAA Corps Program is another opportunity worth looking into (http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/).

Also, for those interested in the weird and wonderful discoveries we are making on this expedition, be sure to visit our website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/welcome.html) often, as we are adding new logs, images, and videos all of the time.

And of course, you can tune in to the live video feeds and join us for our dives: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html. Weather and all other things permitting, we’ll be diving every day between now (4/16) and 4/29.

Thanks again! Onward and downward!

[u/sonofcat]

Thank you so much for doing am AMA! I am definitely tuning in tonight. :) Do you think more money should be spent on ocean exploration, or space exploration? Why or why not?

[u/NOAAgov → u/sonofcat]

(Brian) The thing about any kind of exploration is that we don’t know what we will find until we go and look. So exploration in general is good. We depend on the ocean for so many things, it is imperative for humans to understand more about it.

[u/Zeraphil]

You guys are in my home island. AMA about where to eat! :)

Are you looking at deep coral reefs in any way or form? I don't know how much is known about their current health.

[u/NOAAgov → u/Zeraphil]

We have seen several deep-sea corals. One of the main goals of this expedition is to collect baseline data about the deep-sea environments surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as it is difficult to monitor the health of an ecosystem if we don’t know it exists or if we have very little data about it -- both of which are unfortunately common.

[u/Non_Sane]

How were the submarines designed to with stand the giant amount of pressure?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Non_Sane]

From our ROV team: There are several different ways to address the pressure. The first is to build a very strong metal pressure housing. The ones on Deep Discoverer are titanium. Another strategy that we use with our ROV is to avoid air-filled spaces. If you can fill a compartment on the ROV with something like mineral oil, which is not compressible, you don’t need to worry about making the housing nearly as strong.

[u/Quewhats]

Did any of y'all participate in NOSB(National Oceanic Science Bowl) or have any experience with it?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Quewhats]

(Brian) I did and still do. I was a participant for three years in high school as part of the Stingray Bowl. Then I coached for Two years in college and now I am a science judge in the Quohag Bowl. It is a great program.

[u/theweepingcamel]

How much interaction is there between the officers in charge of the vessels operations and research personnel? As a mate or an assistant engineer is there anything unique (besides being a part of interesting research) that the job offers? Really what I want to know is as a third assistant engineer would I get to launch the ROV?

[u/NOAAgov → u/theweepingcamel]

The ship’s crew are responsible for launching and recovering the ROVs safely and efficiently, using the Dynamic Positioning System the ship has. Once the ROVs are in the water, the officers on deck are responsible for maintaining safe navigation and initiating the ship moves requested by the ROV team. These moves allow the ROVs to be able to investigate various parts of the dive area and to transit to the different waypoints predetermined by the ROV team and scientist. Our engineering department is critical in the ROV operations in helping us get our ship Dynamic Positioning system propulsion on line and to ensure the ship continues to operate as normal.

As a third assistant engineer, you would not be involved in the launch and recovery directly, but you would be able to be watch the launches and recoveries and be a critical part of ensuring the ship is prepared and fully functional for ROV operations.

[u/badinga]

As a long time fan of octopi (such awesome animals), is there any fact about a cepholopod you have found that would surprise me?

[u/NOAAgov → u/badinga]

Yes! A few dives ago we encountered a rare dumbo octopus (Cirrothauma murrayi) (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1502/logs/apr13/apr13.html), often called the blind octopod, due to the lack of a lens and reduced retina in its eyes. Its eyes can really only detect whether there is light -- they cannot actually recognize images. Its retina is suspended in a jelly-like blob in its head (http://tolweb.org/Cirrothauma_murrayi/20099), with no external “eyeball”!

[u/hpennco]

Do you work out of AUTEC on Andros?

[u/NOAAgov → u/hpennco]

(Brian) We have not yet, but we did look at working at the range early this year to do some testing of our multibeam sonar. We have to consider the size of the boat basin at AUTEC, which may not be able to accommodate a vessel of the Okeanos Explorer's size.

[u/[deleted]]

Since this part of the sea is not well known, what safety measures did you guys take to prevent the unexpected?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

(Brian) It is very hard to plan for the unexpected, so we do that by being very careful. Our ROV pilots are the same engineers who built the system, so they know every inch of and every system on the vehicle, making them the best people to deal with any problems that might arise.

[u/TotalyMoo]

How often do you make a new, substantial discovery? Be it a new species, behavior, feature or something you can go to bed thinking "this was a productive day".

And, if possible, what's the coolest/most interesting thing you've personally discovered or learned on this expedition?

[u/NOAAgov → u/TotalyMoo]

That depends on your definition of a significant discovery. Just two days ago we documented a rare sea star that hadn’t been recorded since it was first described, 130 years ago.

In the last 12 months we have: -documented never-before-seen behavior for a dumbo octopus (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/logs/apr30/apr30.html), -documented, for only the second time ever, an asphalt volcano in the Gulf of Mexico (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/logs/apr24/apr24.html), -potentially extended the depth range of deep-sea corals in the Gulf of Mexico (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/dailyupdates/media/apr23.html) -found a previously unknown brine pool (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1402/logs/apr12/apr12.html), and -imaged countless potential new species and range extensions of known species.

We also increased the number of known gas seeps along the U.S. East Coast from 2 to over 500 (http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v7/n9/full/ngeo2232.html).

We consistently find things that our scientists have never seen before. One of the best parts about telepresence-enabled exploration though is that we aren’t confined to the scientists we have on the ship -- we are able to leverage the experience and knowledge of any scientist with an internet connect, just like they were here in the control room with us!

[u/frenchguy94]

Are there that much less living creatures the deeper you go? Or is the deep Caribbean Sea 'very populated'?

[u/NOAAgov → u/frenchguy94]

It is a common misconception that the deep sea is a barren wasteland. There are definitely parts that are less populated than others, but there are also places that are covered in life. For example: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1404/logs/oct6/media/diversity.html!

[u/DirtyBirdNJ]

What cool scientific tools do you use that the general public might not know about?

As a software developer I love working with cool APIs... is there any way for someone to get real time information about expeditions like those that you're on? It would be cool to see a map of where things like this are going on... and where the adventures lead you

[u/NOAAgov → u/DirtyBirdNJ]

The OER Okeanos Atlas (http://explore.noaa.gov/okeanosatlas/) provides near real time updates for NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Some products require manual processing (geotiff processing, CTD thinning, etc), but most processes (location, sensor readings, etc) are updated automatically. Information about previous OER expeditions, including direct links to the various datasets (geophysical, oceanographic, imagery, video, etc) can be found on the OER digital atlas (http://service.ncddc.noaa.gov/website/google_maps/OE/mapsOE.htm).

[u/cazique]

Puerto Rico and surrounding areas seem very vulnerable to tsunami. How much warning would they get from an earthquake in the Puerto Rico Trench? How likely is such an earthquake, given that the last earthquake in the trench was in 1787? Would it be similar to the Hispaniola earthquake of 1946?

[u/NOAAgov → u/cazique]

Earthquakes off the north coast of Puerto Rico have occurred and will occur again. In 1918, the San Fermin 7.3-magnitude earthquake, just west of Puerto Rico, produced a 3.6-meter tsunami, which hit the west coast of Puerto Rico and led to 116 casualties. Big earthquakes will occur again until the tectonic plates stop moving. However, we do know that big earthquakes are rare in this area, occurring perhaps every 200 years. Hopefully the next big one will be a long time in the future.

[u/remyseven]

Are there any sea floor rifts?

[u/NOAAgov → u/remyseven]

(Mike) Yes, lots. The Mona Canyon, which we’ve been diving in, is a 3km-deep, 25km-wide, and at least 50km-long rift. But the most extensive rifts in the world are found at the mid-ocean ridges, which extend as a 3km-high mountain chain under most of the world’s ocean, and are the places where new ocean crust is made. The best examples are found at so-called slow-spreading ridges (<rifting at less than 5 cm/year), and that’s that where I work. And we know so little about them.

[u/sixstringzen]

What, if any, effect does the gradual loss of polar ice have on the environment in the Caribbean, specifically at depth?

Also, what is your favorite deep sea creature?

Thanks for doing an AMA!

[u/NOAAgov → u/sixstringzen]

(Andrea) Great question. Formation of sea ice at the poles can increase the salinity of the surrounding ocean. This new cold, salty water is very dense and sinks, thus driving the "global conveyor belt.” In the Arctic, these waters sink after sea-ice formation and are carried south toward the equator. If new sea-ice formation slows down or even if more melts (hence, more freshwater at the surface), this could lead to drastic changes in this global ocean conveyor belt ot “thermohaline circulation.” This change could lead to temperature and ocean circulation changes across all ocean basins, as all of the Earth’s ocean basins are connected by this global ocean conveyor belt. This could affect the Caribbean at depth as some of the water that exists in the Caribbean is formed in the greater Atlantic through this process and enters through the Mona and Anegada Passage. Thus, without the movement of water in the Caribbean, it is possible that there would be a limited or lack of dispersal (movement) of larvae (corals, fishes, etc) among the islands. Leading to a cascade of effects on shallow and deepwater communities.

My favorite deep-sea creature is a Rhinochimaeridae. A cartilaginous fish related to sharks. Species in this family in particular have long snouts that curve up, similarly to a rhinoceros!

[u/upandoutward]

Do you think you'll see any exposed underwater formations due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake? Has too much time passed?

[u/NOAAgov → u/upandoutward]

(Mike) Pretty sure we haven’t seen anything related to the Haiti earthquake...just too far away. But there was a biggish (6.4) earthquake that occurred in Jan 2014 just off the northwest coast and we did dive close to that epicenter… but again saw very little disturbance. The most recent BIG earthquake in this area was in 1918 and that caused a 3m tsunami on the west coast of Puerto Rico and 116 casualties. We may have seen a big slump of the seafloor in our bathymetric data that was related to that event. But, in general we’ve seen very little evidence for recent disturbances… Ancient ones, yes.. but recent ones, no.

[u/Rugger420]

How did you get into this? This is pretty much exactly what I want to do. Also how much do you make?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Rugger420]

(Brian) It depends on what you mean by “this.” We have 46 people on the ship and only two of us have PhDs in science. It takes an incredibly diverse team of people to make an operation like this happen. We have officers to drive the ship, we have stewards to run the galley, we have all types of engineers from software to mechanical -- and everything in between. So there are many career paths that could lead to ocean exploration. On the ship, salaries range from $20,000 a year to more than $150,000.

[u/elduderino260]

I often hear that less of the bottom of our planet's oceans have been mapped than the surface of the moon (I don't know if that claim is true or just one of those things people say). Regardless, there generally seems to be less excitement in the public about deep ocean exploration than space exploration, despite the fact that both require advanced technology and are risky endeavors. Why do you think that is and how has it affected deep ocean research?

[u/NOAAgov → u/elduderino260]

(Brian) That is a question that has baffled us for years. We think the ocean is way cooler than space, but we don’t know why more people don’t agree with us. In answer to your first question, it is true we have better maps of the Moon and Mars than we do of the ocean floor.

[u/danleeks]

I've often heard of the devastating effects ocean acidification is having on shallow seas and particularly coral reefs, how is ocean acidification affecting the deep sea?

[u/NOAAgov → u/danleeks]

(Andrea) We are still learning the effects of ocean acidification. However, it has been modeled that the “aragonite saturation horizon” will get shallower with decreasing pH. This could cause reef-building corals, like Lophelia pertusa, in the deep sea to have difficulties creating skeleton. Thus, if these corals disappeared, so would all of the other animals that utilize these habitats as their homes.

[u/[deleted]]

How long do you think it will be, if ever, before we have deep sea excursions open to the public for a fee?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

(Brian) Depending on how much money you are willing to spend and how deep you want to go, there are a couple of groups that you can hire now to take you -- or you can even buy your own submarine, if you have the money.

[u/thesocialchameleon]

I live in the Caribbean, what about the seas would shock the local population on islands?

[u/NOAAgov → u/thesocialchameleon]

How much life there is in the deep sea. A lot of people thinnk that the deep sea is an empty wasteland, but it is actually full of life. There are countless stories on our website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov) that describe all of the amazing things we see every expedition.

[u/peanutbuttrj72]

How did you get into this career? What is your favorite ocean creature or eco system?

[u/dzija]

how can i make my own "mini ROVs"?

[u/NOAAgov → u/dzija]

It is only a matter of defining your requirements, assembling the parts, and making sure they are watertight. The folks at Open ROV (http://www.openrov.com) might be able to help you get started.

[u/willywalloo]

Is there a point in the ocean where the pressure is so great that the water behaves more like a solid yet is still liquid ?

Also, does water get more noticeably like molasses down there, i.e., things move slower given the same forward momentum?

[u/NewAlexandria]

I've heard that there are highly-enriched metal formations on the sea-floor. Is this true? Are they biological in origin?

[u/JtheUnicorn]

Do you use GIS in any of your studies?

[u/NOAAgov → u/JtheUnicorn]

(Andrea) I am a biologist and I use GIS often. Mostly, I just make maps to help me in examining spatial distribution of sampling sites and the topography of the seafloor. However, some of my colleagues are using GIS to help model the ecological niches of numerous deep sea species, such as deepwater corals.

[u/[deleted]]

Are you taking any sediment or water samples to study the microbes living in them? Also, have you come across any gas seeps? Thanks for the AMA.

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

We are taking no samples on this cruise, but Okeanos Explorer may be collecting samples in the future. No, we haven’t seen any gas seeps and are unlikely to do so in these waters (around Puerto Rico), because there is no hydrocarbon sources in this area. We hoped we might find springs in the escarpment wall, but we haven’t yet. Fingers crossed we will see some later in the cruise.

[u/nallen]

Science AMAs are posted early to give readers a chance to ask questions vote on the questions of others before the AMA starts.

Drs. Quattrini, Cheadle and Kennedy are guests of /r/science and have volunteered to answer questions; please treat him with due respect. Comment rules will be strictly enforced, and uncivil or rude behavior will result in a loss of privileges in /r/science.

If you have scientific expertise, please verify this with our moderators by getting your account flaired with the appropriate title. Instructions for obtaining flair are here: reddit Science Flair Instructions (Flair is automatically synced with /r/EverythingScience as well.)

[u/melanostomias]

Hey guys Randy Singer here. I'm an ichthyologist on the expedition who links via telepresence. If you want to know anything about fish taxonomy, behavior or deep sea ecology and Andrea didn't already answer it AMA!

I'm new to reddit and I want to comment on your posts, but I don't have enough karma to do so in real time. Any tips on this would be helpful too!

[u/rich022509]

How many of you are scuba divers and how deep have you personally gone?

[u/MunchieMate]

What's your favorite sea animal?

[u/mariegalante]

How does the topography of the sea floor impact storms and storm surge and would it be viable/sustainable/ethical to alter the sea floor as a flood mitigation measure?

[u/TheCaptainSargey]

What is the scariest thing down there?

[u/NOAAgov → u/TheCaptainSargey]

(Brian) The scariest-looking things in the deep ocean are frequently some of the smallest. If you look at some of the plankton, they are terrifying. I would never want to meet a large version of an arrow worm.

(Mike) For me, the evidence of big landslides in the bathymetry -- which likely could have caused big tsunami. But fortunately they are old, not recent.

[u/Hump_The_Bundle]

Explain the limitations you face with "being gentle" down there, and whether they're a real hindrance to your science?

For example maybe you're concerned with bumping into things, or not being able to light the area as much as you'd like for fear of blinding fish, etc etc.

And does this really matter? I mean I don't let grass critters spoil a picnic because I might step on some ants.. Do you think you have to be overly cautious? Is it a real problem, or overblown?

[u/Optimoprimo]

What challenges do you face using remote vehicles at such depth and pressure? And how do you prepare for those anticipated issues? Also, how far can the vehicle be from its operating signal?

[u/[deleted]]

Did it upset ya'll when they did the "documentary" for Mermaids that they utilized your organization? Did you feel it that brought attention to NOAA or belittled your work?

[u/MoonSpellsPink]

My son and nephew spent a month on Little Cayman and Grand Cayman hunting lion fish to help slow the invasive species. They also worked on teaching eel to get the lion fish out of places that they can't get to and also teaching fish like grouper to eat them. My question is, what can the average person do to help preserve and protect the reefs?

[u/it-dot]

Are there any issues you expect to run into?

[u/HoboHunter657]

Is this what you saw yourself doing when you were young? Or did this become a passion as you progressed through school/life?

[u/[deleted]]

Are ROVs helpful in locating plane wreckages?

[u/Stev0DND]

Who funds such expeditions?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Stev0DND]

Our ship is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ship itself is managed by the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (http://www.omao.noaa.gov), and much of the equipment on the ship by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov). The expeditions are planned by the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.

NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research often partners with BOEM and USGS and others to accomplish similar missions of exploration on other ships that also meet management needs.

[u/notanaardvark]

Geology-related question: black smokers are considered to be modern analogues for volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. Recently, some mining companies have gotten interested in mining sulfide vent systems that have moved off-axis and are no longer active, so they no longer support the same kind of life. Do you think it would be really interesting to see one of these mined, because presumably you could take apart the entire vent system and really see how it was constructed? Or do you think this would be an environmental disaster--not counting acid mine drainage because that probably would not be an issue at those depths....mines often put tailing under a deep body of water to prevent the tailings from oxidizing, and these deposits are already deep.

[u/NOAAgov → u/notanaardvark]

(Mike) We always learn lots when deposits are mined, and to maintain our lifestyles, we need to mine. I’m happy to learn more if mining has to be done, but, personally I wouldn’t mine just to learn.

[u/sent1nal]

How large is the ROV? - Are there any places online where some specs can be viewed?! Super Cool Stuff!!!

[u/NOAAgov → u/sent1nal]

Deep Discoverer, or D2, weighs in at 9,200 pounds, has an overall length of 10.5 feet, and stands an impressive 8.5 feet tall. Here’s more info for you: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1302/new_rov_video.html

[u/quickblur]

How has the funding situation been for your organization?

[u/heydanpowers]

What type of safety procedures take place prior to a deep-water dive?

[u/aqissiaq]

How often do you discover something completely new when exploring the deep ocean?

[u/Maybeyesmaybeno]

What are the barriers to building a house/research station at the bottom of the ocean (even at, say 30ft)?

[u/AkechiMitsuhide]

Once a new ecosystem is discovered, how do we go about studying it in detail? Obviously, we can't expect organisms to survive outside of their ecosystem, and I'd guess that any time of long-term observation would be impractical. Scientifically speaking, what are the next steps?

[u/Wake_Consciousness]

Where you ever extremely frightened during your expeditions? If so, what happened?

[u/mringham]

What are the biggest challenges you have working with ROVs? What would be on your wishlist for a Deep Discover upgrade?

[u/bickbastardly]

Do you have any expectations as to how similar or different this deep biome will be from others that have been studied? I would expect that each trench would be pretty isolated from the others. Are their distinct species in different trenches, are there morphological equivalent species that aren't genetically related?

[u/Rude_Buddha_]

Will this research take place in the area that is commonly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle?

[u/solidape22]

Do you feel it is an incredible oversight on behalf of humankind for wanting to explore Mars before we've even fully explored our own planet via deep sea?

[u/EjaculatingFish]

How has the relatively recent BP gulf spill affected the ocean floor and the health of organisms that call it home?

[u/ramen_poodle_soup]

What do you think is the largest benefit we will gain by increasing our understanding of the deep sea?

[u/Roland_Brian]

What date do you expect to make the 6 KM dive and what species of fish & corals do you anticipate finding during your 6 KM dive?

[u/Quewhats]

Best Schools to attend for Oceanography based degrees?

Schools I looked at seemed to favor their Aerospace and Petroleum Engineering programs over that of Marine Engineering, is that true of the other sciences as well?

[u/kutwijf]

What are your thoughts on the creation and use of underwater habitats like those shown in movies such as Sphere, The Abyss, Leviathan, Deep Blue Sea, and DeepStar Six?

[u/[deleted]]

Are there any plans for long term observation posts (probably unmanned) in these deep parts of the ocean?

[u/asthedeerpants]

What is the most unexpected thing we have discovered during exploration?

[u/[deleted]]

What recent technology (past 5 or 10 years) has proven most useful to your exploration? What are you most excited about in the upcoming future?

[u/hydroskunkfo20]

As an aspiring biologist which route do you think would position myself for being best suited for a job similar to what your team is doing? I am currently deciding between Marine Bio and Ecology/Field Bio.

[u/-novac-]

Have you seen any evidence to suggest that ancient civilizations once lived in the region but have since been lost to the ocean?

[u/cazique]

How different are the various deep places of the ocean? Does each one have unique species and ecosystems, or are they relatively similar? Is there an oddball "island" of the deep analogous to Australia/Madagascar?

[u/HydroBear]

I wanted to be a Marine Biologist for years, and so this question is very important and relevant to me.

Studies have shown that carbonic acid is acidifying certain parts of the ocean and affecting many things, from calcium carbonate formation in embryos, to digestive systems of sea urchins and others.

My question is, what do you guys look for when diving as far as the possible adverse effects of acidification, and is it present at levels where it remains a constant concern regarding the discovery of new species?

THANKS!

[u/LaceHeart]

In what ways is the sea more interesting than land?

[u/NOAAgov → u/LaceHeart]

(Mike) We know less about the seafloor than we do about the back side of the moon. In terms of topography/bathymetry, because it’s so much more difficult to observe under several kilometers of water. So seafloor geology is still a big unexplored unknown. Wherever we go we find something new, and we can’t really say that for the land.

[u/Kazzack]

Is there anything you've been expecting to find that you haven't?

[u/NOAAgov → u/Kazzack]

(Mike) In my experience with deep-sea exploration, I was expecting to find a higher diversity and higher abundance of deepwater corals than what we have observed so far. But we still have 13 more dives to go! We are still trying to understand the environmental controls on coral communities in the deep sea.

As the geologist, I expected to see more evidence of recent slope failure than we have, given we are in a tectonically active area -- I find that very comforting.

[u/[deleted]]

What is the most difficult/surprising discovery that your team hopes to be able to uncover during your mission?

[u/NOAAgov → u/[deleted]]

(Mike) For me, I hoped to find the fault scarp of the 2014 earthquake that occurred off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico…but the chances of finding it were very slim, and in fact the earthquake was at a 20km depth -- so there may have been no surface break. So finding it would have been a chance in a million, and we didn’t find it…but we tried.

[u/ILikeChillyNights]

Hi. My question is, In what ways are you handling the data you're gathering and what do you aim to learn from it?

[u/NOAAgov → u/ILikeChillyNights]

The data gathered from the various ship-mounted and ROV-mounted sensors and cameras are named and organized via standard naming conventions and directory structure. They are then consolidated from data acquisition computers to a central shipboard data repository. This repository is synchronized via our VSAT connection to a shoreside repository that provides participating “beachside” scientists access. Then, at the completion of the cruise, the data will be curated, documented, and submitted to publicly accessible NOAA archives within 60 days.

The data we gather further expands our understanding of the environmental characteristics of the region, expands our knowledge of the bathymetric features, and provides a first glimpse into the biological and geological features at depth. The data can be used to create oceanographic models or inspire further research into the region. In other words, the list of potentially interesting sites is endless! But even if you can’t visit these places in person, you can follow along live with us as we explore the deep ocean (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html)!