Operation Deep Scope Expedition 2004. This Caranchid squid, about four-inches across, uses transparency to hide from potential predators. Open-water divers can more easily observe these creatures with polarizing filters. Compare the polarized and unpolarized images to one another. Image expl1551 is in polarized light.

Operation Deep Scope Expedition 2004. This Caranchid squid, about four-inches across, uses transparency to hide from potential predators. Open-water divers can more easily observe these creatures with polarizing filters. Compare the polarized and unpolarized images to one another. Image expl1550 is in unpolarized light.

Operation Deep Scope Expedition 2004. This jellyfish was observed by mid-water divers studying how these creatures adapt to living in areas where background light is in a constant state of flux. Transparency hides the animal from potential predators.

Operation Deep Scope Expedition 2004. Top portion of a tubeworm from the Brine Pool, photographed with white light.

Operation Deep Scope Expedition 2004. Top portion of a tubeworm from the Brine Pool, photographed with blue light to simulate fluorescence.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Automated Benthic Explorer (ABE) Imagenex pencil-beam sonar image showing the crest of Southern Explorer Ridge and the location of Magic Mountain hydrothermal site. The image is gridded at 4-meter pixel cell size. Purple and dark blue colors indicate deepest depths. Note that the position of Magic Mountain is on the flank of the axial rift valley.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Examples of hydrothermal chimneys and mounds

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Comparison of a sulfide sample from Magic Mountain and an ancient ore deposit.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. A degassing event at Brimstone started releasing an escalating number of bubbles (probably CO2) as the plume cloud increased in volume. Notice the pieces of sulfur at the base of the cloud.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Cross section view of the base of one of the active chimneys recovered by Jason II at the 5 Towers vent field. The brass-colored mineral lining the central orifice of the chimney is the copper sulfide chalcopyrite.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Acidic liquid carbon dioxide bubbles rise out of the seafloor at NW Eifuku volcano. To avoid destroying camera lenses and plastic fittings on Jason, the vehicle kept a safe distance from the rising CO2 bubbles. The inset at the upper right shows a few of the liquid CO2 bubbles photographed from a safe distance.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Red-green algae and fine white 'beards' of bacterial mat cover the lava blocks at 200 meters water depth (~650 feet). Here we are observing a rare sight: an overlap of the chemosynthetic and photosynthetic communities.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Striking example of the iron oxide mineral hematite (red) intergrown with the sulfate mineral barite (white) and the copper sulfide mineral chalcopyrite (yellow).

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Shimmering water spews forth from the newly discovered "Cleopatra's Needle." Notice the majestic spires of surrounding vent chimneys in the background at the Mystic vent field within the Magic Mountain area.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Two anhydrite and sulfide chimneys at the Magic Mountain area. Notice the extensive bacterial mats (white) and the bubbling chimney on the mound in the foreground. Seven of the many anhydrite mounds in this region, called Majestique, were mapped and named by the American and Canadian collaborators on this Ocean Exploration expedition.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Even though it is hard to imagine looking at this image, the sulfur dip caused no damage to either the vehicle or to the vent fluid sampling system that was attached to the vehicle.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. While trying to extract a sample of the sulfur crust, Jason inadvertently broke through the crust, and molten sulfur enveloped the lower part of the vehicle.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. If we were observing this type of eruptive activity on land, we would have to run for our lives! At Brimstone Pit the pressure of 560 meters (1837 feet) of water over the site reduces the power of the explosive bursts. Also, the water quickly slows down the rocks and ash that are violently thrown out of the vent.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. At ~220 meters (~720 feet) water depth we encounter large talus blocks coated with extensive bacterial mat. Notice the tropical fish swimming among the mat.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. During ROPOS's first dive at Explorer Ridge, glimpse of Magic Mountain vent field.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Imagenex pencil-beam bathymetry collected during seven ABE dives in the Magic Mountain area of Explorer Ridge. The resolution of data is 2 meters. The blue box shows the area mapped at higher resolution with SM2000 sonar, also mounted on ABE (see SM2000 map).

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. EM300 multibeam bathymetry collected at Explorer Ridge during the first leg of the Ring of Fire expedition. The resolution of the data is 30 meters. The blue box shows the area mapped at higher resolution with the Imagenex sonar mounted on ABE (see Imagenex map). See image expl1555.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. High-resolution bathymetric map of the Explorer Ridge, Magic Mountain area obtained by ABE Imagenex and countoured at 5-meter interval.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. The plethora of squat lobsters at Seamount X, disperse as the Jason II ROV comes in for a closer view.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. The crew of the Thompson launching ABE ( Automated Benthic Explorer) over the side of the ship for another night of data collection. ABE is outfitted with a host of scientific sensors to log magnetics, temperature, conductivity and multi-beam bathymetry.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. A close-up view of shrimp at NW Rota-1. The reason for the difference in color is not yet clear, however one possibility is that the longer it has been since they last moulted the more material (could be sulphur or bacteria?) that accumulates on their carapace.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. This crab was not as lucky as Jason, it was consumed by the molten sulfur when the crust broke. Frozen (perhaps a bad choice of words) in time in this sulfur crust, it has become a valuable scientific specimen.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. Three-dimensional image of Explorer Ridge viewed from the southwest looking northeast. The bathymetry data were gridded at 200 meter grid-cell size. Water depths range from 1500 to 3400 meters. The image is vertically exaggerated five times. The multibeam systems used on the ROF 2002 survey will map part of this area with a less than 5-meter grid.

Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. A small segment of midocean ridge crest showing the development of hydrothermal plumes. Plumes issue from small sites on the ridge crest, often as a result of an intrusion of a magma dike during an episode of seafloor spreading. The hot fluids rise and grow increasingly diluted by the surrounding seawater and get swept away by local bottom currents.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. A pot of molten sulfur bubbles out of the seafloor in this area of sheets of sulfur crust. The red laser beam dots are 10 centimeters (~4 inches) apart.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. The Hydrothermal Fluid Sampler collecting diffuse fluids at Seamount X.

Ring of Fire 2006 Expedition. Tongue fish and crabs are part of the extensive vent community on the seafloor at Daikoku. The fish blend in well on this pebbly substrate, but it is easy to spot the larger fish in the bottom right corner of this image. The lasers - 2 red dots in the center of the image - are 10 cm (4 inches) apart.

NEWZEEPS (New Zealand Seeps) Expedition 2006. Hermit crab from a cold seep site sampled during seeps voyage on RV Tangaroa. Note the seep-associated bacterial filaments on its claws (furry-looking covering).

Description not available.

Description not available.

Description not available.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Track and station map of the Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition showing systematic mode of data collection.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Map showing proportion of salt in the surface water. Plate No. I.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Map showing proportion of salt in the deeper strata. Plate No. II.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Map showing proportion of nitrogen in the deeper strata of the North Atlantic Ocean. Plate No. III.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Chemistry. Amount of carbonate of lime in biloculina clay. Plate No.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Starboard view and deck plan of the VOERINGEN, ship of the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Deep sea sounding method on the VOERINGEN.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Donkey engine for dredging and hauling material to the surface on the VOERINGEN.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. A variety of fish collected on the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. A variety of fish collected on the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. A variety of fish collected on the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Holothuroidea. Plate XIII. Fig. 1 - Myriotrochus Rinkii, Steenstr. Fig. 2 - Ocnus (Cucumaria) minutus, Fabricius. Fig. 3 - Trochostoma arcticum, Marenz. Fig. 4 - Trochostoma Thomsonii, Dan. & Koren. Fig. 5 - Trochostoma Thomsonii, var. maculatum, Dan & Koren. Fig. 5 - Part of posterior end of Tr. Thomsonii, var., magnified.

The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876-1878. Mollusca. Table I. Fig. 1-5, Spinther arcticus. Fig. 6-10, Polynoe spinulosa. Fig. 11-14, Polynoe foraminifera. Fig. 15-21, Polynoe islandica. Fig. 21-26, Polynoe assimilis.

The Challenger Reports. Vol. IX, Plate LXXVII. The Foraminifera. Globigerina. Orbulina bulloides, d'Orbigny.