The hidden scars left on the landscape during ice ages thousands to millions of years ago have now been imaged in spectacular detail. The Metals Company is one of nearly two dozen contractors that have exploration deals with the agency; most of them are held by nations. The Wampanoag have lived in what is now southeastern Massachusetts for more than 12,000 years, and the two communities coexisted for about 50 years before war began. October 5, 2022|The Source: St. Thomas. How an underwater robot could help reveal mysteries of the deep, Deep Diving for Metals: Visualizing Ocean Mining, Autonomous Research Vehicle Completes Ocean Crossing, Ocean Exploration Off California Discovers New Methane Seep, Whale Fall, Seminar: NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute - Exploring the USs Blue Frontier, A Research Vessel Found SpongeBob Look-Alikes A Mile Under The Ocean's Surface, AI spots shipwrecks from the ocean surface and even from the air, Deep-sea research bolstered with $2 million grant, Study examines the role of deep-sea microbial predators at hydrothermal vents, New Approach Could Boost the Search for Life in Otherworldly Oceans, Surprise undersea volcano could offer unique window into Earths interior, Building a detailed seafloor map to reveal the ocean's unknowns, Intertidal: NOAAs been mapping our coast since 1807, Sonardyne BlueComm to Stream Ocean Exploration Missions Live, How Low Can You Go? The footage was taken at the Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge. Thats rather intimidating news, given tentacles are where the dreaded stingers are located on jellyfish. A UK boat has just provided an impressive demonstration of the future of robotic maritime operations. For centuries, it has also provided humans with food, transport, commerce, leisure, and inspiration. Why leave Earth in search of aliens when you can just dive right into our oceans? A massive force for surviving climate change, the ocean absorbs 90% of the heat caused by emissions and generates 50% of the oxygen we breathe. NOAA is seeking up to two new members for its Ocean Exploration Advisory Board, a federal advisory committee that advises the NOAA administrator on matters pertaining to ocean exploration. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a swim controller that turns regular jellyfish into speed demons. U.S. The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council (NOMEC Council), a group of federal agencies established to carry out the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, is requesting your input on developing an Implementation Plan and setting strategic priorities for the effort to map the entire U.S. Scientists are pinging in the New Year off the coast of Australia with a sonar wave project to launch a decade of ocean exploration. Two million square kilometers is equivalent to more than 772,000 square miles or roughly more than one quarter of the size of the lower 48 United States. As this interest grows, divergent ideas about its current and future role in supporting human life are being expressed in scientific and public discourse. Down there, it's normal to happen upon unprecedented, never-seen-before animals and intriguing behavior. The Atlantic Ocean is getting wider, shoving the Americas to one side and Europe and Africa to the other. As massive a project as it would see to be now, once upon a time humanity needed to formulate the theory of plate tectonics. An alien-looking goo creature is growing on the floor of the Caribbean Sea and it bears more than a slight resemblance to the shapeless 1950s science fiction monster The Blob. The black colored creature with its gaping mouth laid on the sand on the shore of Crystal Cove State Park's Marine Protected Area in Laguna Beach last Friday. Furthemore, Finest Known has joined forces with the leading deep-ocean exploration company, Odyssey Marine Exploration. [] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ocean specialists are revisiting some of the strangest things they've seen under the waves. Scientists witnessed something deeply weird nearly 1,400 feet under the sea off St. Croixs southwest coast and theyre giddy about it. Woodside Petroleum. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is an American company engaged in deep-ocean exploration with a focus on the exploration, development and validation of subsea mineral resources. Sunken shipwrecks in deep waters off the United States could be getting more protection. Which means any navigation done must be handled by a human. Earths biggest habitat is also the one that we know the least about. West of Peru, the camera-mounted robot explored a vast expanse of sea floor, 4 kilometers (more than 2 miles) deep, known for its extreme flatness. The autonomous solution will help expand the footprint and efficiency of the OECIs ocean exploration operations. It's well over 150 feet in length. In this article, James Carey, head of operational delivery at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), outlines five reasons why better mapping could help us to understand the basics of our ocean ecosystem and help us protect it and one reason why mapping could compromise our environment. James Cameron is diving into the deep: this time, into the oceans of an alien world. Santos Ltd. The startups pitch was simple and cinematic: The mining company would send large robots to explore the bottom of the ocean and harvest minerals millions of years old that could be used to make electric car batteries. February 17, 2022|Good Morning America. Ive been fascinated with the ocean since I became an avid scuba diver two decades ago, a love I share with geographer and oceanographer Dawn Wright, chief scientist of geographic information systems software company Esri. In an October 6, 2020 award, an ICSID tribunal considered indirect expropriation and breach of customary international law claims brought by two American companies, Interocean Oil Development Company and Interocean Oil Exploration Company (claimants), against the Federal Republic of Nigeria (respondent), pursuant to the Nigerian Investment . China livestreamed footage of its new manned submersible parked at the bottom of the Mariana Trench on Friday, part of a historic mission into the deepest underwater valley on the planet. He is scheduled to make two dives to the deepest part of the ocean at more than 35,000 feet. At night, they migrate up to the shallows to forage. Around us, Earth looked aliena world where the normally shifting seas were a solid mass of glowing ice. The wreckage of a German warship that was struck by a British torpedo in 1940 has been discovered off the coast or Norway. That was crazy, Chadwick tells Vox. Only three sources on Earth produce methane naturally: volcanoes, subsurface water-rock interactions, and microbes. The mysterious happenings have conjured stories of supernatural interference, alien kidnappings and an area somehow outside the normal bounds of physical reality. Geoview conducted and completed the . Driven in part by the UN's Seabed 2030 program, which seeks to map the entire ocean within the decade, and partially by growing interest in offshore and near-shore sustainable energy infrastructure, it's a great age of ocean exploration. On May 14, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Okeanos Explorer will depart from Port Canaveral in Florida on a two-week expedition led by NOAA Ocean Exploration, featuring the technology demonstration of an autonomous underwater vehicle. That makes environmental DNA (eDNA) a critical tool for managing our response to climate change. The history of deep sea exploration begins relatively recently, mainly because advanced technology is needed to explore the depths. April 29, 2020|Interesting Engineering. We believe there is no future on earth without a better understanding of our oceans. Now, scientists at RIKEN are developing a completely different system that relies on electric rays natural swimming behavior and sting rays. Never underestimate the power of one cell. For the first time, scientists have viewed the deepest regions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and discovered, among other things, an extremely rare fish that appears to walk along the seafloor. NOAA has forged a formal agreement with Vulcan Inc. to share data resulting from the two organizations ocean work. Now, researchers have uncovered the fossil of an unusual creature that was likely a giant compared to tiny ocean life 500 million years ago. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and partner groups are sending a two-part, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on a series of deep ocean dives as part of a mission called Voyage to the Ridge 2022., I'll admit, I'd never heard of a Solumbellula sea pen until today, when I saw a tweet from the Exploration Vessel Nautilus showing an intriguing tentacle-y creature with a long thin stalk reaching down to the ocean floor. Now scientists have found its wreckage, Exploring MBARI and the Tech Behind Deep Sea Videos, The centuries-long quest to map the seafloors hidden secrets, Discovered in the deep: the crustacean with eyes for a head, Who Owns the Oceans Genes? But what do you do with a treasure trove of new viruses? Snailfish are found in all of the worlds oceans, at depths varying from shallow intertidal to the deepest oceanic trenches. September 23, 2021|Penn State University. Little boats for whale songs sail into climate hot spots, Scientists discover walking fish in depths of Barrier Reef, Jupiters Ocean Moons Raise One Anothers Tides, Wreckage of German World War II battleship found off Norway, Ocean warming has seafloor species headed in the wrong direction, Megalodon discovery: Scientists reveal giant sharks astonishing true scale, Ocearch to start new great white shark expedition in Nova Scotia waters next week, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles: An Ocean of Possibilities, The technology solving the oceans greatest mysteries, WWII German U-boat sunk after colliding with another sub found at bottom of Baltic, 30 New Species of Deep-Sea Life Forms Discovered Near The Galapagos. September 29, 2021|Maritime Executive. Jordan Peele even used some of them as inspiration while designing aliens for his film Nope. The U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday that it had located one of the most famous shipwrecks, the 'legendary' U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear, after two decades of looking for it. As it sustains and connects us, the ocean is woven into the cultures of local and Indigenous coastal and island communities. Archives in France, Spain, Cuba and Florida house extensive records concerning ships, crew and cargo during the Colonial period. October 26, 2020|Marine Technology News. Whats more, their songs can be used as a form of seismic testing, which uses blasts of sound to map out the ocean floor. An unusual fish with teeth as sharp as glass and a body shaped like a football washed ashore on a California beach last week. "Ironton is yet another piece of the puzzle of Alpena's fascinating place in America's history of trade and Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary . Seabed Mining (SBM) should be distinguished from Deep Sea Mining (DSM) that occurs at a depth of 200 meters and greater. ODECO was a leader in the offshore drilling industry until 1992, when it . In 2016, the Plymouth community gathered and discussed how to memorialize the upcoming 400th anniversary of that Mayflowers journey. Even though mining in the Deep Sea is still a relatively new phenomenon, abundant levels of metals that are critical for clean energy such as copper, cobalt, and nickel have been found on the seafloor. While deep-ocean exploration is responsible for ground-breaking discoveries, it is also unmasking the true scale of our impacts in the deep ocean. Site Info, NOAA Ocean Exploration The findings have now been published by the international team in the professional journal Science. Scientists have discovered a new blob-like species of ctenophore, or comb jelly, off Puerto Rico. In a new memoir, Edie Widder discusses her life's work studying brilliant displays in the deep sea. OceanX today unveiled its new one-of-a-kind scientific research, media production, and exploration vessel, the R/V OceanXplorer. A new type of red jellyfish may have been discovered off the East Coast, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a big clue was more tentacles than expected for the genus. Scientists have discovered a real-life deadpool at the bottom of the Red Sea one that kills almost every creature that swims into it. Scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, the first to be discovered in over 120 years, Schmidt Ocean Institute announced. Nonprofit ocean exploration organization OceanX today announced the launch of the Young Explorers Program (YEP), offering college students from across the nation the opportunity to learn about and explore the ocean aboard OceanXs marine research and media vessel OceanXplorer. View some of the best videos from past expeditions led or supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration, organized by theme. The uncrewed, autonomous, Saildrone Surveyor recently completed a groundbreaking maiden voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu. Astrobiologists are now pursuing multiple interplanetary missions to learn whether any of these ocean-bearing moons actually possess more than mere waternamely, habitability, or the nuanced geochemical conditions required for life to arise and flourish. Thousands of years ago, long before Stonehenge and the pyramids, mining operations in the Keweenaw Peninsula were being conducted. Cousteau's grandson, Fabien Cousteau, has been following in the same footsteps and is now gearing up for the ultimate mission, life underwater. Black smoke appears to rise from chimney-like formations of the hottest and deepest known hydrothermal vents on Earth. So we jumped at the chance to visit MBARI and see just how much science, technology, and manpower is behind those wonderful deep sea videos. September 8, 2020|Scientific American. Inspiring and engaging the next generation are fundamental to the operations of the agencys ocean exploration program. Known as the Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field, these vents exist on the ocean floor where two tectonic plates are separating about a half an inch (15 millimeters) per year south of the Cayman Islands. As greenhouse gas emissions warm the planet, the ocean is absorbing vast amounts of that heat. All kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans, hang out in the depths during the day, where the darkness provides protection from predators. Researchers spotted snailfish glowing red and green in the icy waters off the coast of Greenland. But today most explorers who are making fundamental discoveries are scientists. However, human-caused climate change is altering the marine environment through changes in temperature, oxygen content and acidity levels, threatening the habitats of these species. Announcing 2023 Ocean Exploration Education Grants to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The hydrothermal vent fluids from the Gorda Ridge spreading center in the northeast Pacific Ocean create a biological hub of activity in the deep sea. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is scrambling to develop regulations for exploiting metals from the marine floor by July 2023. The Labrador Sea plays a vital role in supplying oxygen to deep-sea life across the world. Anytime we use natural gas, whether we light up our kitchen stove or barbeque, we are using methane. With the help of wealthy tourists, experts hope to learn more about the vessel as well as the underwater ecosystem that shipwrecks spawn. January 15, 2022|Environmental News Service. Subscribe to Yachting magazine for $39 for 1 year and receive 3 bonus digital issues. Saturns moon Titan is one of the most fascinating bodies in the solar system, not least because its home to huge oceans, lakes and rivers of liquid methane. Life on Earth likely emerged in our planets oceans, which is why scientists hoping to find extraterrestrial life elsewhere are particularly interested in ocean worlds. They're still puzzling over three mysterious sightings. Its deep. The creatures can talk to each other visually using bioluminescence, and, researchers now say, through changing skin color patterns that communicate precise messages that could be translated into warnings like "don't touch my food.". Corals and sponges are important foundations in ocean ecosystems providing structure and habitats that shelter a high number of species like fish, crabs and other creatures, particularly in the seamounts and canyons of the deep sea. The way that the songs of fin whales echo back from the seabed could become a useful tool for scientists studying the sediment and rock that make up Earth's crust, according to new research carried out in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Vast amounts of ancient Martian water may have been buried beneath its surface instead of escaping into space, scientists report in the journal Science. And while this region is famed for its beautiful land animals (such as giraffes, lions, rhinos, and more), this rich diversity also can be found under the deep blue waves that hug the shore. Exploring our oceans is key to protecting them. Scientists from Arizona State University, who are a part of the Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog (SUBSEA) program, have pioneered a new approach to the scientific process of geochemical exploration for our Earth and beyond. The seabed survey and ocean exploration company Ocean Infinity announced that its vessel, Seabed Constructor, sets sail from Cape Town to begin the search for the lost South Korean ship, Stellar Daisy. In my field, we collect long sediment cores from the ocean floor, to reconstruct the oceans and climates of the past, looking for analogues of the current warming climate. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2040 and explore and characterize strategic areas. A new analysis of exceptionally well-preserved fossils of a small cephalopod named Vampyronassa rhodanica, related to modern vampire squids (neither actually vampires, nor squids), reveals the presence of muscular suckers that the beastie likely used for snaring and manipulating prey. Ocean exploration is a dynamic and exciting field. It is engaged in the discovery, validation, and development of subsea minerals deposits in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Scientists and planners are increasingly turning to digital technology to save the ocean. . Sound has moved to the forefront of ocean exploration in past years thanks to its speed underwaterit travels almost five times faster than in the air. Wildlife photography is a notoriously difficult art form, requiring patience, stamina, and serendipitous timing. Two University of Wyoming researchers are part of the first-ever mapping of magnetic stripesone of the foundations of plate tectonicswithin the lower gabbroic section of fast-spreading oceanic crust. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries department has successfully completed a series of 21 expeditions over a span of several years to learn more about aquatic life. But did it ever explore the oceans, and why did it stop doing so? They're capturing astounding footage of marine life. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Ocean Exploration and Research is honoring a team of Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs employees for their dedication in helping explore and better understand the ocean. We here at Nerdist love watching videos about the ocean. Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced Dec. 21 that a future Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship will be named USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67). For some time now, humanity has been saying we know more about the surface of the moon than the floor of the ocean. Discoverer will be a state-of-the-art ship that operates around the nation and the world to study and explore the ocean. Carlie Wiener is used to early mornings. According to BV, the AiP addresses the safety requirements of the marine drone, which operates under the novel concept of remotely supervised autonomy. From May 14th to May 27th, scientists aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will conduct the 2021 Technology Demonstration, traveling from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, who got his start in software development. $500 billion question: What's the value of studying the ocean's biological carbon pump? The grandest migration on Earth isnt the journey of some herbivore in Africa or a bird in the sky, but the vertical movement of whole ecosystems in the open ocean. Giant squid are one of the worlds largest invertebrates and belong to an ancient group of mollusks called cephalopods, which also includes octopuses, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Far from land, deep sea mining trials have left barren marks that are still there decades later, and as Richard Fisher writes, they symbolise two different timescales colliding. ", November 9, 2021|Marine Technology Reporter. There, in the dark ocean, a unique food web thrives not on photosynthesis but rather on chemical energy from the venting fluids. The Earth is mainly a water world more than 70 percent of its surface is covered by oceans and yet we know so little about what resides beneath the waves. The climate conversation has never been more ubiquitous. Could our understanding of the deep ocean help unlock the mysteries of outer space? Encourage them to explore, and honor the pioneers who have led the way. The ocean powers our economy, provides food for billions of people, supplies 50 percent of the worlds oxygen, offers recreational opportunities for us to enjoy, and regulates weather patterns and our global climate system. Yet the link between how much we know about this environment and how we protect it is not always clear. A rarely filmed deep-sea squid was recorded off the southeast coast of the U.S., with observers describing the creature with tentacles stretching up to 20 feet as "ghostly" and "alien-ish. But only about 20 percent of the seafloor has been directly mapped so far. Site Info, NOAA Ocean Exploration Now, a Canadian-German team has, for the first time, measured the amount of oxygen exiting the Labrador Sea basin, using data from a deep-ocean current. But, for one inventor-computer scientist-video game developer-explorer from New York, there may never be another year as amazing as the one hes just had. The University of Rhode Islands Graduate School of Oceanography is holding a national competition to select a name for a new National Science Foundation-owned Regional Class Research Vessel which will homeport at the URI Narragansett Bay Campus. In the cold, choppy waters of Alaskas Resurrection Bay, all eyes were on the gray water, looking for one thing only. It was off the coast of central California, near an undersea volcano. The US Government is seeking public comments on a proposed rule that would require companies looking to drill for oil or natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf to submit a more-detailed archaeological report on the area.. A recently released set of topography maps provides new evidence for an ancient northern ocean on Mars. Giant squid (Architeuthis dux) are mysterious deep-sea predators with basketball-size eyes and tentacles that can stretch to 33 feet (10 meters) long. he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the only federal agency with a program dedicated to exploring the deep ocean, closing gaps in our basic understanding of U.S. deep waters and the seafloor, and delivering the ocean information needed to strengthen the economy, health, and security of our nation. Special delivery: Sign up for the free Yachting email newsletter. Some social media users are sharing a YouTube video that claims NASA halted ocean exploration efforts in 1978. Global warming is beginning to penetrate even the deepest parts of our oceans. Lanternfish, the Earths most abundant vertebrates, may be the ultimate food source. From mysterious, barely visible fish and high-tech deep sea submersibles to virtual reality tours of the ocean floor and ocean conservation challenges, it's safe to say we like thinking about the worlds that exist beneath the sea and what worlds may await us in the watery depths beneath the ice of Jupiter's moon, Europa, and Saturn's moon, Enceladus. In 1953, the company was founded by Alden J. As the world warms, many species of plant and animal will have to find newoften coolerplaces to live. Now its time to test a similar system while exploring another frontier. Its very dark, recalls Antje Boetius, a biologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute. They have a long history of pushing at the boundaries of what is possible supporting space and ocean endeavours. A team of 20 scientists from the Australian Antarctic Program left Hobart, Tasmania, today to spend two months working in the Southern Ocean off East Antarctica aboard the research vessel Investigatorone of the few research missions over the past year that havent been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it is exciting, baffling, and awe-inspiring for the scientific community when curious new creatures appear and are caught on camera. he worlds deepest diving three-person acrylic submersible was officially named Aurelia at the end of April 2022 and will soon go through sea trials as it gets prepared for its first missions. August 26, 2020|BBC Science Focus Magazine. Not anymore. As defined by the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration (NOAA, 2000), exploration is discovery through disciplined, diverse observations and the recording of findings. The siphonophore is actually made up of thousands of small clones called siphonophores that resemble jellyfish. Scientists have taken the first ever photos of a glow-in-the-dark shark producing its own light. Experts project the unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) global market to hit the $5.2 billion dollar mark by 2022. From sinking shipping during wartime to covert reconnaissance and use as nuclear deterrence, these machines are both feared and admired. Drawn from hours of never-before-seen footage, Bob Ballard: An Explorers Life will air July 18 at 7pm on National Geographic. The ore potential led to the European Unions initiation of the Blue Mining project in 2014 with the goal of turning seafloor mining into a viable industry. Between these three sources, most is generated by microbes, which have deposited hundreds of gigatons of methane into the deep seafloor. We help to accelerate the development and maintenance of critical ocean infrastructure. Even the very contours of this world are still unmapped: We probably know more about the surface of Mars than we know about the ocean floor. To date, only three people have reached the deepest point on the planets seabed. The contractors are a mix of corporate enterprises and state-owned companies, with several governments keen to establish the . The following article discusses some of these mysterious yet fascinating deep-sea creatures.