University of Australia researchers captured rare footage of a bigfin squid using a ROV deployed ~11,000 feet deep in the Tonga Trench
ROVs collect coral samples for research
More and more scientists are using underwater ROVs to observe marine habitats and collect samples for testing and DNA sequencing. The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Marine Genomics Unit is only one such example, partnering with Japanese telecommunications company NTT Communications to identify a genera of mesophotic (“middle light”) corals.
Full article at: Science Daily 15feb24
Research paper at: Springer Nature 25nov24
MBARI’s ROV Tiburon discovers a very unusual deep-sea sea slug
About the size of an apple, this sea lug / nudibranch, named Bathydevius caudactylus, is unlike any sea slug Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute scientists have seen previously.
Bathydevius is a swimming sea slug, glows with bioluminescence, and has a body with a paddle-like tail and a large gelatinous hood. It is also the first sea slug found to live in the deep ocean. Typically, sea slugs live on the seafloor or in coastal environments like tidal pools.
Full article at: CNN Science 12nov24
The Underwater “Yellow Brick Road” is a Hyaloclastite Rock Formation
ROV Hercules spotted this formation back in 2022 in the Papahānaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii:
It has been identified as a hyaloclastite rock forms, which occurs naturally when lava flows into water, ice or watery sediments. It’s a common occurrence with undersea eruptions and can often create angular forms.
Full article at: Forbes 09nov24
Sadly, that wasn’t Amelia Earhart’s Plane…
We were all hoping and waiting with baited breath for the follow-up inspection of this sonar image captured in February. Could it have been Amelia Earhart’s plane?
Unfortunately, an inspection by ROV this month showed that this shape is a plane-shaped rock formation, not the missing Lockheed 10-E Electra.
Full article at: Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum