Gulf of Mexico 2012

Gulf of Mexico 2012

Daily Updates

The updates below summarize daily activities on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the Gulf of Mexico 2012 expedition, with accompanying images and videos.

While it's nearly impossible to get a picture with all expedition participants, this image captures the mission personnel who were on board NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the third and final cruise leg of the 2012 Gulf of Mexico Expedition.

April 29, 2012 - Mission Personnel

Image showing the bathymetry data acquired by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the third Gulf of Mexico Expedition cruise leg. In total, 15,106.9 square kilometers were mapped - an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.

April 28, 2012 - Bathymetry

The Seirios camera sled images NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer personnel and deck hands during recovery following the last dive of the cruise on April 28th at Keathley Canyon.

April 27, 2012 - Recovery

NOAA's Seirios Camera Platform, operating above the Little Hercules ROV, images the anchor and remnants of a copper-sheathed shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. The wood has nearly all disintegrated after more than a century on the seafloor.

April 26, 2012 - Copper-sheathed Shipwreck

A brittlestar wraps itself around a soft coral (Paramuricea).

April 25, 2012 - Brittlestar Around Coral

Two red Anthomastus octocoral (a large one and small one), a squat lobster (Munidopsis sp.), an anemone, and several shrimp on a rocky outcrop.

April 24, 2012 - Sigsbee Escarpment

Mapping Team Lead, Adam Skarke, conducts an XBT cast. The XBT measures temperature through the water column. XBT software calculates sound velocity, which is applied to the multibeam data for accurate measure of bathymetry.

April 23, 2012 - XBT Cast

Mapping Team Lead, Adam Skarke, conducts an XBT cast. The XBT measures temperature through the water column. XBT software calculates sound velocity, which is applied to the multibeam data for accurate measure of bathymetry.

Drainage channels filled with brine (the cloudy material) feed a small pool with a live eelpout in it at Green Canyon lease block 470.

April 21, 2012 - Green Canyon Lease Block 470

Small mounds or volcanoes around the periphery of a brine pool rose small heights (centimeters) from the seafloor. Some of these volcanoes, like the one in the image, were emitting gas, probably also mixed with liquid hydrocarbons and brine.

April 20, 2012 - Ewing Bank 915

A giant snake eel pokes its head out of the scupper tube of an old shipwreck lying on the Gulf of Mexico's deep seafloor. Lollipop sponges and several different kinds of anemones inhabit the wooden planking of the wreck.

April 19, 2012 - Site 359

NOAA's Seirios camera platform images the Little Hercules ROV during a seafloor encounter with a skate.lipop sponges and several different kinds of anemones inhabit the wooden planking of the wreck.

April 18, 2012 - South of the Biloxi Dome

Gas bubbles from a natural seep rise up in front of a calibrated grid added to the front of the <em>Little Hercules</em> remotely operated vehicle, enabling the collection of imagery data that will allow scientists to assess sizes and rates of bubble escape from a seep.

April 17, 2012 - Pascagoula Salt Dome

A 'methane bucket' capture device added to the front of the <em>Little Hercules</em> remotely operated vehicle with gas hydrate at the top of the cylinder. During ascent, the hydrate was seen to sublimate into gas and expand in volume, filling the gas cylinder.

April 16, 2012 - Pascagoula Salt Dome

Multibeam bathymetry data showing DeSoto Canyon (right) and Salt Domes (middle) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. EM302 bathymetry data acquired by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during five cruises in 2011 and 2012.

April 15, 2012 - Mapping New Seafloor Areas

The Little Hercules ROV, outfitted with a 'methane bucket' capture device, captures gas bubbles percolating up from a seafloor gas seep.

April 14, 2012 - Biloxi Salt Dome, Site B

Bubbles from a gas seep are imaged by the high definition cameras on the Little Hercules ROV.

April 13, 2012 - Biloxi Salt Dome, Site A

An aggregation of methane ice worms inhabiting a white methane hydrate. Studies suggest that these worms eat chemoautotrophic bacteria that are living off of chemicals in the hydrate.

April 12, 2012 - Biloxi Salt Dome

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer pierside in Pascagoula, MS.

April 11, 2012 - Underway!

View of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer from the Fast Rescue Boat.

April 7, 2012 - Welcome to Pascagoula

View of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer from the Fast Rescue Boat.

April 6, 2012 - Another Big Milestone!

The Institute for Exploration's Little Hercules ROV is deployed from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

April 5, 2012 - Back in the Water

Weather is often one of the biggest obstacles to getting our work done.

April 4, 2012 - The Waiting Game

Swimming deep sea-spider

April 3, 2012 - Typical Day

Geologists highlighted the channel branch in the white circle. It may be the newest development in this ancient seafloor feature (Fledermaus screenshot; bathymetry data gridded at 50m cell size).

April 2, 2012 - An Underwater River?

A brittlestar living on a paramuricid coral adjacent to a large white anemone. This community is on the edge of a carbonate rock in Mississippi Canyon lease block 297.

April 1, 2012 - Signs of Change?

View from the crane as Little Herc is lowered into the water.

March 31, 2012 - National and NOAA Priority

Tim Shank and Dave Lovalvo ensure science and operational objectives are met while exploring a shipwreck.

March 30, 2012 - National and NOAA Priority

Anchor resting on the top of the Site 15429 wreck. Lophelia coral is also visible.

March 29, 2012 - Second Marine Archaeology Dive

Image of gridded bathymetry shown as a wireframe and draped over gridded backscatter data.

March 28, 2012 - What Is It?

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer conducts operations in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

March 27, 2012 - Maritime Archaeology Milestone

In 2010, the Jason ROV imaged a site about seven miles downstream from the plume flowing from the Macondo well. Scientists found deep-sea corals showing signs of recent and severe impact.

March 26, 2012 - Deepwater Horizon

Seirios captured this image of Little Herc examining deep corals along the West Florida Escarpment.

March 25, 2012 - Need to Get Back Here

The Mapping Team creates a number of daily products to facilitate ROV dive planning. This is an image of backscatter data from the West Florida Escarpment draped over the multibeam bathymetry.

March 24, 2012 - Target Selection

VSAT and both rescue boats are visible in this image taken while facing aft.

March 23, 2012 - Working Out the Kinks

Close-up of a deep sea crab imaged with the Little Hercules ROV.

March 22, 2012 - Back-up Plan

A combination of wind, waves, and current forced us to cancel today's ROV dive.

March 21, 2012 - Mother Nature

ROV Control Room - After seven months away from the ship, Video Engineer Gregg Diffendale and Science Team Lead Tim Shank picked up right where they left off.

March 20, 2012 - First ROV Dive

Black and white image of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in Tampa, Florida. Art Howard created this composite using 36 images taken with his iPhone.

March 19, 2012 - Leg II Underway

Bathymetic map of DeSoto Canyon generated at 50 meter grid cell size resolution based on preliminary data processing onboard during the expedition.

March 19, 2012 - Leg 1 Summary