2006 Videos:
The edited video clips show highlights from dives with the JASON II remotely operated vehicle on submarine volcanoes in the Mariana Arc. These movies are larger format versions (480 x 360) of the video clips available on the NOAA Ocean Exploration web site, along with images and logs from the expedition.

Sites/Subjects:
NW Rota 1: Brimstone Pit (eruption) | Animals (shrimp, dead animal rain)
Daikoku: Sulfur lake | flatfish
Nikko: Sulfur pools
East Diamante: Chimneys |tropical life
Eifuku: Mussels | liquid CO2
Seamount X: Squat lobsters
Forecast: Snails | shrimp

Mariana Arc- Quicktime: 16.4MB Windows Media: 16.5 MB

Mariana Arc from south to north. Annotated volcanoes were dive targets on the 2006 expedition.

For fly-throughs of individual volcanoes explored with Jason, visit:
2006 Fly-through site.

(Fly-through image size is 480x360.)

Brimstone Pit Eruption
This is the first time that glowing lava has ever been witnessed from a submarine volcanic eruption! In this case, the lava is rising in the vent so fast that a small glimpse of red glow can be seen intermittently before it crusts over or is blown apart. What a sight! Do you think the scientists were a little excited?

View all Brimstone Pit videos

Crab Ride
One of the carnivorous shrimp resident at NW Rota-1 volcano catches a ride on a crab that is passing by.

View all NW Rota 1 Biology videos

Sulfur Lake
Molten sulfur and volcanic gases are bubbling out of a vent along the far wall of Sulfur Cauldron and keep the partially crusted surface of the pond undulating. Sometimes the heaving is so great that pieces of crust near the vent break off, tip on end, and are pulled downward by the convecting currents in the pond.

Flatfish
A dense group of tonguefish on the sedimented seafloor at Daikoku. The fish are more active than they appear at first glance.

View all Daikoku 2006 videos

Sulfur Pools
When Jason tries to sample a rock, it sinks through the thin crust on the lake of molten sulfur and a crab barely survives the experience! At the end of the dive we found that part of the Jason frame had also broken through this crust and was coated in sulfur.

View all Nikko 2006 videos

Tropical Life
A multitude of tropical life exists at the shallow Aquarium site.

View all East Diamante 2006 videos

Mussels
In addition to the dense colonies of mussels at NW Eifuku, there are also the same two species of shrimp that we found at NW Rota-1 (the volcano we found to be actively erupting). However, at NW Eifuku the two shrimp species live in different habitats separated from one another, whereas at NW Rota-1 they are found.

View all Eifuku 2006 videos

Flying Squat Lobsters
Squat lobsters (galatheids) in "flight" at Seamount X.

Snails and shrimp
Intensely shimmering water vents from the seafloor atop Forecast seamount. The temperature probe on Jason II measured temperatures as high as 200 degrees C at nearby vents. Snails and shrimp have colonized the site and a grazing on chemosynthetic bacteria. Jason's suction sampler is used to collect some of these animals for analysis in the lab on board the ship.