Map of Vai Lili dive and sample sites. The black lines are contours representing depths in meters. Bathymetry resolution is 0.5 meters. Image courtesy of Submarine Ring of Fire 2012: NE Lau Basin, NOAA-OER. Download image (jpg, 72 KB).
The Submarine Ring of Fire 2012 NE Lau Basin exploration team continued its transit onboard the R/V Roger Revelle towards its first dive target, Vai Lili. A science team meeting was held to discuss dive sites and sampling regime needs of each science team. The University of Bremen-based ROV team continued preparations of the ROV for the first dive and scientists began preparation of specialized sampling tools to collect sediment and bacterial mat samples at Vai Lili.