INDEX 2010: ‘Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region’

INDEX-SATAL 2010:
Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region

Daily Updates

The updates below summarize daily activities on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the INDEX 2010: ‘Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region’ expedition, with accompanying images and videos.

August 8: Expedition Ends

Expedition Ends

Crew from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and Indonesian Research Vessel Baruna Jaya IV pose with children and staff from a local orphanage.

August 7: Port of Bitung

Scleractinian hard coral imaged by the Little Hercules ROV at 1382 meters depth. Based on published results, this coral may be 1,000 to 6,000 years old.

August 6: Dive 14: Gelembung II

Dive 14: Gelembung II

Large barrel sponges and their associates were observed during the dive. Image captured August 5 by the Little Hercules ROV at 700 meters depth on a new seamount mapped by Baruna Jaya IV during the INDEX SATAL 2010 Expedition.

August 5: Dive 13: Barrel Sponges

Dive 13: Barrel Sponges

A purple sea cucumber with a high “spike” protruding from its dorsal section.

August 4: Dive 12: Sea Cucumber

Dive 12: Sea Cucumber

0.5 to 1 meter tall active and inactive spires on the summit of the Kawio Barat submarine volcano. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 1849 meters depth on August 3.

August 3: Dive 11: Spires

Dive 11: Spires

A stunning 10-armed sea star. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 271 meters depth on a site referred to as 'Zona Senja' on August 2.

August 2: Dive 10: Sea Star

Dive 10: Sea Star

An 8cm long gastropod snail crawling on a wood fall (log) at 1525 depth. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at a site referred to as 'Baruna Jaya IV - Site 1' on August 1.

August 1: Dive 9: Snail

Bathymetric map showing the high-resolution multibeam data acquired by Okeanos Explorer so far during the INDEX 2010 Expedition. The red polygon shows the area mapped on July 31.

July 31: Mapping Day

An example of macrofauna – a small cup coral about 2cm in height with its tentacles extended.

July 30: Dive 8: Macrofauna

Dive 8: Macrofauna

The Little Hercules ROV shines its lights on active hydrothermal venting at Kawio Barat submarine volcano.

July 29: Dive 7: Hydrothermal Venting

Dive 7: Hydrothermal Venting

Close-up view of a bamboo whip coral with its associate squat lobster.

July 28: Dive 6: Bamboo Coral

Dive 6: Bamboo Coral

A spectacular image of a benthopelagic sea cucumber swimming in the near freezing waters of the abyss, approximately 3200 meters deep.

July 27: Dive 5: Swimming Cuke

Dive 5: Swimming Cuke

The Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Little Hercules investigates an animal hot-spot on the submarine volcano termed 'Site G' at approximately 2,120 meters depth.

July 26: Dive 4: Site G

A close-up view of a brittle star intertwined with its host coral.

July 25: Dive 3: Brittle Star

Dive 3: Brittle Star

A stunning purple Sea Lily filters the current for food.

July 24: Dive 2: Sea Lily

Dive 2: Sea Lily

An overview showing the extraordinary biodiversity found at seamount K, even at small scales.

July 23: Dive 1: Seamount K

Dive 1: Seamount K

Commander Joe Pica and Lieutenant Nicky Verplanck discuss the ships position with TNI Official Major Adrianto, and confirm NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer has entered the approved geographic bounds for INDEX SATAL 2010. Data acquisition commenced shortly afterwards.

July 22: Underway!

This map shows areas mapped as well as the locations of CTD casts and ROV dives during Leg II.

July 14: End of Leg II

Towards the end of our final dive of Leg II, we came across interesting geologic features around 800. This image shows what appears to be iron staining around cracks.

July 13: Dive 13: Iron Staining

Dive 13: Iron Staining

The vehicle captured the underside of this galatheid crab clinging to a coral on July 12.

July 12: Dive 12: Galatheid Crab

Dive 12: Galatheid Crab

Image of the sea spider seen during the dive on July 11.

July 11: Dive 11: Sea Spider

Dive 11: Sea Spider

Close-up of large purple spoon worm seen during the dive on July 10.

July 10: Dive 10: Spoon Worm

Dive 10: Spoon Worm

This image captures ROV Team member Tom Kok’s first stint in the ROV Pilot’s chair. Veteran Dave Wright sits behind him to provide guidance and advice as needed.

July 9: Dive 9: ROV Pilot

Dive 9: ROV Pilot

We imaged this purple octopus with large glassy eyes during dive #8.

July 8: Dive 8: Purple Octopus

Dive 8: Purple Octopus

This close-up could almost pass for a flower in your garden, but appears to be a sponge - probably a 'carnivorous sponge' of the cladorhizids. Image captured by the ROV camera around 1000m depth.

July 7: Dive Cancelled

Silhouetted image of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer bridge.

July 6: Dive 7: Carnivorous Sponge

Dive 7: Carnivorous Sponge

This close-up image of a crab on a deepwater coral is a frame grab from the ROV high definition video camera.

July 5: Dive 6: Crab & Coral

Dive 6: Crab & Coral

Flags of the United States of America, Republic of Indonesia, NOAA Corps, and Okeanos Explorer Commissioning fly above the bridge.

July 4: Multibeam Operations

Multibeam Operations

Multibeam map of the Naung site using 20m grid cell size. Personnel used this map to plan the ROV dive.

July 3: Dive 5: Naung

This close-up image of a deepwater coral is a frame grab from the ROV high definition video camera.

July 2: Dive 4: Deepwater Coral

Dive 4: Deepwater Coral

Image of the breathtaking squid captured on camera during ROV Dive 3: Squid.

July 1: Dive 3: Squid

Image of hydrothermal vents found during the second ROV dive on Kawio Barat. The yellow deposits are molten sulfur. Multiple species of hot-vent shrimp are also visible.

June 30: Dive 2: Vents

Dave Lovalvo keeps a close eye on the first ROV deployment of INDEX-SATAL 2010.

June 29: Dive 1: Dave Lovalvo

Dive 1: Dave Lovalvo

During the early morning hours of June 28, the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer transited past several islands in the Sangihe-Talaud chain while conducting multibeam operations.

June 28: Sangihe-Talaud

John Sherrin and Elaine Stuart collect water samples from the CTD/rosette on Kawio Barat.

June 27: Water Samples

The ROV camera sled will remain secured to the deck for the next few days while mapping operations continue.

June 25: ROV Secured

Operations Officer Nicola VerPlanck discusses the ship's position with Major Muddan Zayadi and Commanding Officer Joe Pica on the bridge. Soon after Major Muddan confirmed that data collection could commence, INDEX-SATAL 2010 was underway.

June 24: Ship's Position

Ship's Position

Chief Bosun Carl VerPlanck took this photo during the welcoming ceremony of one of the traditional dancers.

June 23: Traditional Dancer

Traditional Dancer