Schmidt Ocean Institute

The Ocean rocks! (See also: When were geology jokes funny? Answer: The Stone Age.) We spend most of our time sharing the wild and wonderful animals we encounter during our deep-sea expeditions, but every once in a while, you need to slow your robot down and marvel at the geology! The science team noticed the different colors and suspect this is a sedimentary layer that formed over the volcanic rocks beneath. (Don’t worry, we included a couple of Stoloniferan corals to tide you over until the next animal reel swims your way!) This footage was collected during Dive 674 along an unnamed and previously unexplored seamount along the #SalasyGomezRidge. The ridge comprises over 110 seamounts and supports the migration of animals such as whales, sea turtles, swordfish, tuna, and sharks. It is one of several global locations under consideration for designation as a high seas marine protected area upon ratification of the UN High Seas Treaty; you can read more about the High Seas Treaty here: https://lnkd.in/eqUnMb6v

The Earth is art. These stunning images were taken by one of our talented multimedia correspondents, Alex Ingle. He is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker who captures stories, images, and adventures from the field. Alex uses his work to bring science to life. The current #EruptionArchives expedition is underway, and Alex captured these photos as the ship moved toward the fjords along the southern coast of Chile for the first ROV dives of the voyage. Dr. Sebastian Watt of the University of Birmingham, UK, is leading an international team to study the underwater effects of the 2008 Chaitén volcanic eruption from the research vessel Falkor (too). Understanding the imprint of this event on the marine environment will also help unlock deeper-time records of significant volcanic eruptions in the region, allowing scientists to reconstruct volcanic behavior in Southern Chile over geologic time. Learn more about the expedition here: https://lnkd.in/dpY_Q5Vq #SciArtFriday

The 4th #OceanDecade Foundations Dialogue closed yesterday with the announcement of the soon-to-be-released Rio Action Statement, which will outline the strategic priorities of philanthropic support to the Ocean Decade ahead of #UNOC3, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. The Rio Action Statement will be informed by the Dialogue's three days of rich discussions on: 🟦 In-kind resources and new funding initiatives for the Ocean Decade 🟦 Guidelines for investment in actionable ocean science 🟦 Strategic communications to support the Ocean Decade's impact and stakeholder engagement 🟦 Inclusivity in ocean science 🟦 Joint initiatives across philanthropic funding partners Full Rio Action Statement coming soon! In the meantime, learn more about how philanthropic funding organizations can support the Ocean Decade here: https://lnkd.in/dPqAfKfK Photos © Carol Machado / Fundação Grupo Boticário de Proteção à Natureza

https://lnkd.in/dG7ctseY From the recent #NazcaHighSeas expedition off coast of Chile.

Fierce and fabulous, the colorful mantis shrimp packs a punch. In fact, it packs the most powerful punch in the animal kingdom — not too bad for an animal synonymous with the most diminutive among us! According to an interdisciplinary team at Harvard, the carnivorous crustacean’s club-like arms “accelerate faster than a bullet out of a gun and just one strike can knock the arm off a crab.” They know this because they built a tiny 1.5-gram robot to study the mechanics of a mantis strike. Ultimately, they were able to unlock the four distinct phases of a punch using high-speed imagery and an interdisciplinary approach. The researchers believe that “combining physical and analytical models could help biologists understand and roboticists mimic some of nature’s other extraordinary feats.” You can read more: https://lnkd.in/ewfPwRb4 These tiny boxers were spotted during the #SalasyGomezRidge expedition, where an international team of scientists observed individual seamounts harboring distinct ecosystems and awe-inspiring deep-sea creatures — experts believe the unique attributes of each underwater mountain may warrant more comprehensive protection for the whole region.

Totally tubular! While they may not look related, sea cucumbers are members of the echinoderm group with urchins, sea stars, and sea lilies. Each species has five-rayed symmetry, meaning they have five rows of tube feet running from the mouth along the body. Ubiquitous in all areas of the Ocean, from shallow to deep, these animals play an important role in recycling nutrients. Our pals over at NOAA Ocean Exploration call them the vacuum cleaners of the deep because “they eat their way along the seafloor, separating the organic matter from the inedible, and then excreting the inorganic sediment.” This deep-sea Dyson was spotted at about 667 meters depth, about 86 kilometers from Rapa Nui. During the 40-day #SalasyGomezRidge expedition, an international team of scientists observed individual seamounts harboring distinct ecosystems like glass sponge gardens and deep coral reefs. These distinct habitats provide homes for awe-inspiring deep-sea creatures — octopus, squid, fish, corals, mollusks, sea stars, sea urchins, crabs, squat lobsters, and more. Many of the animal sightings could be species new to science or an expansion of the known range. Experts hope their robust findings will advance efforts to establish high-seas protected area designation for this biologically rich region.

The #EruptionArchives expedition has begun, featuring research that aims to provide information on how active volcanism impacts the ocean and marine ecosystem recovery following a major disturbance. More info: https://lnkd.in/dpY_Q5Vq

Follow those fins! According to the cephalopod experts at OctoNation, there are approximately 300 species of octopus, which fall into two suborders: ciratta and inciratta. This Cirroteuthid is a cirrate octopus because it possesses a single row of suckers on each arm, and each sucker has two tiny cirri, little finger-like bristles for moving food toward their mouth. More info: https://lnkd.in/e9KfV_-V A team of international scientists observed this dumbo octopus during the #AtacamaTrenchAncients expedition, where they were characterizing the microbial and macrofaunal communities in the surrounding areas of the Atacama Trench off the coast of Chile.

A manganese nodule begins with a fragment. A bit of rock or shell, enveloped by precipitates of manganese, iron oxides, and other metals like cobalt and zinc, grows over time — millimeters per million years. After millions of years, that little piece of nothing will become an egg-to-potato-sized lump of not-nothing called a manganese or polymetallic nodule. If you cracked one open, you would see concentric circles that resemble tree rings. According to NOAA Ocean Exploration, the largest deposits of these nodules occur in deep abyssal plains in our Ocean, and they lie at the center of a debate about deep-sea mining. A recent paper by Sweetman et al. caused some excitement this summer by suggesting that these fields of nodules on the seafloor may be producing what they call dark oxygen. The authors hypothesize that the nodules have high voltage potentials, and seawater electrolysis may contribute to this dark oxygen production. If true, this would make these nodules a source of oxygen for deep-sea ecosystems. You can read the paper via the link in our bio. This field was observed during the #NazcaHighSeas expedition, where an international team of scientists observed remarkable biodiversity, including lush and animal forests of slow-growing ancient coral and sponges along an underwater mountain range in the unprotected waters or high seas off the coast of Chile.

2018 #ArtistAtSea Lily Simonson found the perfect muse, albeit a mechanical one, for her painting on the R/V Falkor. Who knew our robotic guide to the deep, ROV SuBastian, was a suitable partner for painting? She wrote about her experience: "I knew controlling the ROV manipulator arm would be intensely challenging, but I still felt ambitious enough to try to make a painting that would be representative of the research goals on this expedition. I decided to paint the Autonomous Biogeochemical In Situ Sensing System (ABISS) lander — a NASA prototype that some of [the expedition] scientists helped develop. With its geometric, metallic features, creating an image of the ABISS would present a departure from my normal subject matter, which focuses on the natural world. But given that the lander was a piece of high-tech gear destined for the seafloor, it seemed fitting to paint the ABISS with a deep-sea robot. Plus, the lander was already sitting on the deck just a few feet from the ROV, so I would be able to stay true to my process of working from direct observation." #SciArtFriday