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Business Insider

By Jeremy Berke
There’s a spectacular, uncharted alien world right off the Gulf Coast, and a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) expedition sought to uncover its secrets.
This past December, a NOAA team, aboard the Okeanos Explorer , conducted the first of three month-long studies of the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico, with the dual aim of exploring the diversity of deep-water habitats and mapping the seafloor. 
Using a mix of remote-operated submersibles (ROVs), and shore-based instruments, the team brought back stunning images of previously unexplored areas. 
Here’s a sample of what they found in the inky depths:
Over dozens of dives, NOAA’s submersibles brought back images of deep-water creatures that had seldom been observed before.

Here, the coiled tip of a bamboo coral is pictured growing out of the sediment on the seafloor, thousands of feet below the surface.
A submersible explores a shipwreck first spotted by an offshore drilling exploration firm in 2002.

The submersible, Deep Discoverer, conducted a full archaeological survey of the wreck, collecting 3D mosaic images and analyzing the life living on it. NOAA’s researchers believe the ship is a merchant vessel dating back to around 1830.
In this image, you can see a tiny snake star, surrounded by the spiny arms of larger sea stars coiled among the branches of a coral, at a depth of 1,315 feet.

This probably isn’t like any lobster you’ve ever seen. A deep-sea squat lobster hangs out on a coral fan.

A spider crab hitches a ride on a giant isopod in the isopod’s burrow tunnel at a depth of 1,788 feet.

Giant isopods are deep-ocean varieties of pill bugs, and they’re found in cold, deep waters all over the planet. The largest specimens have been found to grow over 30 inches long, and weigh in at close to four pounds.
These two lobsters are completely blind due to their pitch-black surroundings. These ones evidently share a little burrow, but scientists aren’t exactly sure why.

A long-nosed chimaera fish drops by one of NOAA’s submersibles on a dive. Many of the researchers said this was the first time they’ve ever seen one.

Two deep-sea male red crabs are pictured here in an intense duel.

Similar to males of many species, the scientists believed these bottom-dwellers were fighting for the affection of a nearby female — but, because of a brief observation period, they can’t be certain.
A craggy outcrop on the seafloor supports a dense community of sea stars.

At the very top of the pinnacle, you can see a large basket star as well.
A NOAA submersible encountered this ctenophore, or comb jellyfish, swimming just above the seafloor.

Pictured here is a tripod fish, with parasitic isopods attached to two of its fins.

Tripod fish rest on the seafloor — facing into the current — and use their elongated fins as sensory “antenna” to catch unsuspecting prey, according to NOAA.
Pictures here is a deep-water variety of marine smelt, from the genus Leptochilichthys.

NOAA’s researchers were astounded to see this fish at the relatively shallow depth of 2,953 feet. Typically, this species has only been observed below depths of approximately 6,000 feet.
A Periphylla periphylla, or deep-sea helmet jellyfish, pictured colliding with the seafloor after it was startled by the bright lights from the submersible.

These jellyfish undertake a daily migration towards the surface at dusks, and back down towards the depths at dusk. The scientists suspect the creature was reacting to the bright lights on the submersible and attempted to swim down away from the light it thought was coming from the surface.
A colonial tuscarorid phaeodarean is pictured here feeding on marine snow — the nutrients (including fish excrement) that drop from shallow waters higher in the water column — at a depth of 2,300 feet.

This creature hasn’t been widely studied by scientists. It’s composed of colonies of individual cells, which secrete silica shells. The shells combine to create a fine silica mesh that surrounds the colony.
A deep-sea rendezvous: A sea cucumber and a shrimp wander past each other in the submersible’s lights.

Pictures here is an umbellula sea pen, with a mysid shrimp keeping it company.

Mysids are known as opossum shrimp because they have marsupial-like pouches. You can see this shrimp’s full brood pouch as two red dots on either side of its midsection.
This fish, aptly named a Darwin’s slimehead, is pictured swimming just a few metres off the sea-floor.

This grumpy-looking cusk eel is pictured at a depth of 1,585 feet.

Scientists were unsure as to why this eel was so grumpy, but maybe you would be too if a strange, bright, submersible gawked at you while you were going about your daily business.
This is a sea toad, found hanging out on the sea floor at a depth of 2,428 feet.

The humble sea toad, which can move across the ocean-floor sediment with feet-like fins, had its star turn in Blue Planet II.
This cute little guy is a dumbo octopus, the deepest-dwelling octopus.

This image was taken from NOAA’s previous expedition to the Gulf of Mexico in 2014, but it was too good to leave out.
See Also:
A ‘secret garden’ of corals thousands of feet below the sea
Volcanic eruption in Hawaii causes lava to pour into a residential neighbourhood
Scientists spent three weeks exploring the Gulf of Mexico’s uncharted ocean habitats
Read the original article at Business Insider


Scientists spent a month exploring the Gulf of Mexico’s deep sea habitats — and the images they brought back are astonishing

There's an otherworldly, alien world down in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

The tripod fish, Bathypterois viridensis, with parasitic isopods attached to two of its fins. Tripod fishes rest on the seafloor on the tips of elongated rays of their pelvic and lower caudal fins. They use the elongated rays of their pectoral fins as sensory “antennae” that project out and forward as the fish sits facing into the current. Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

A coronate medusa, Periphylla periphylla, that collided with the seafloor. These medusae undertake a daily vertical migration (toward the surface at dusk and toward the depths at dawn). It is suspected that this was a reaction to the bright lights on Deep Discoverer; the medusae attempted to swim deeper away from the light they thought was coming from the surface. Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

A particularly grumpy-looking ophidiiform cusk eel encountered at a depth of 1,585 metres (5,200 feet) during Dive 12. Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

A Darwin’s slimehead hangs out a few meters off the bottom Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017

Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Fish experts on the global midwater team were blown away by the appearance of this fish from the genus Leptochilichthys. The observation placed this fish at a shallow depth of 900 metres (2,953 feet), when typical observations place this fish squarely in the bathypelagic zone at ~2,000 metres (6,562 feet). Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017.

Umbellula sea pens are sediment dwellers. This one has a mysid keeping it company. Mysids are commonly known as opossum shrimp, because they have brood pouches. You can catch a glimpse of the full red brood pouch as two red dots on either side of this mysid’s midsection. Photo: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017.

Singapore and Indonesia researchers uncover at least 12 new deep sea species off Java 

SJADES 2018 member Muhammad Dzaki Safaruan holding a newly discovered giant sea cockroach. Photo: SJADES 2018

The Tulip sponge anchors itself to the ground via glass fibres and could possibly be a few hundred years old. Photo: SJADES 2018

A new species of hermit crab with bright green eyes and orange banded pincers. Photo: SJADES 2018

An interesting deep-sea creature found was the Bat fish, which ‘walks’ on the bottom of the ocean. Photo: SJADES 2018

Scientists from Singapore and Indonesia set sail to explore marine life in West Java

Team will survey 29 sites over two weeks and share daily updates with colleagues...if they can get a good Wi-fi signal

The route that researchers will take for the South Java Deep-Sea Biodiversity Expedition 2018, from March 23 to April 5, 2018. Photo: National University of Singapore

A Giant sea cockroach unearthed during a 2005 deep-sea expedition in central Philippines. Photo: Peter Ng/National University of Singapore

Members of the South Java Deep-Sea Biodiversity Expedition 2018 include (from left) Ms Iffah Binte Iesa, expedition consultant Dr Bertrand Richer de Forges, the Singapore team's chief scientist Prof Peter Ng, expedition consultant Prof Chan Tin-Yam from National Taiwan Ocean University, and Dr. Jose Christopher Escaño Mendoza. Photo: National University of Singapore

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Researchers studied the creatures, some never before seen, that make up the deepest parts of the seafloor’s biodiversity


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Scientists spent a month exploring the Gulf of Mexico’s deep sea habitats — and the images they brought back are astonishing

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Researchers studied the creatures, some never before seen, that make up the deepest parts of the seafloor’s biodiversity

Researchers studied the creatures, some never before seen, that make up the deepest parts of the seafloor’s biodiversity