Videos
Slideshows
Taking Stock
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
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- During its short career in ocean exploration, Nereus provided unmatched capabilities for exploring and sampling the hadal zone in a systematic way. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Nereus provided some of the most extensive and comprehensive views of the seafloor during its dives, enabling scientists to observe and sample individual animals as deep as 10,000 meters beneath the surface. Here, the vehicle’s slurpgun homes in on a brittlestar.(Video still courtesy of the HADES program, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Scientists placed this snailfish on a lightbox to highlight the fact that its body is translucent. The big, dark blob in the middle of the fish is its liver. Before this cruise to the Kermadec Trench, only about 10 snailfish, the deepest known fish in the ocean, existed in collections around the world. Now there will be 45 more. (Photo by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
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- Video from the stationary landers also provided unseen views of seafloor fauna, including the first recording of a super-giant amphipod swimming. (Video still courtesy of Alan Jamieson, Aberdeen University)
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- New processes involving life in the trenches were also identified or hinted at in samples collected during the cruise. This piece of pumice found at 8,000 meters carried algae and animals from the sea surface attached, making it a potential path for food to move from surface waters to the deep ocean. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- As exciting as hadal research can be, paperwork remains a part of everyday life. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- In addition to the many scientific firsts from the cruise, HADES also successfully broadcast images live online from 10,000 meters via a satellite telepresence unit provided by the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The last piece of equipment came on board in the early evening of May 14—the abyssal lander. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
My oh my oh meiofauna
Friday, May 16, 2014
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- Daniel Leduc from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research examines amphipods infected with parasitic nematode worms. (Video still by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
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- This hadal amphipod is infected with juvenile parasitic nematode worms (the white structures in the animal’s side). Scientists are working to understand the life cycle of the worms and their effects on their amphipod hosts. (Photo by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
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- Sample bags and vials ready for the next round of dissection in the bio lab. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Aberdeen graduate student Thomas Linley takes advantage of the light on deck to take photos of a snailfish that he will stitch together into a single, high-resolution, 3-dimensional image. (Photo by Ken Kostel Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Close quarters in the ship’s cold room. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- An early-morning launch of the hadal lander. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The small things
Thursday, May 15, 2014
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- Scripps Institution of Oceanography microbiologist Doug Bartlett (right) is dressed for the cold room, where he will be taking the water sample Walter Cho is helping him collect from the hadal elevator. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Fresh specimens await processing in the bio lab. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Jill Bourque from the U.S. Geological Survey holds a sediment core taken from 8,000 meters containing an unidentified species of polychaete worm. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Aberdeen microbiologist Eleanna Grammatopoulou filters four liters of seawater to collect the organic matter that could eventually end up as food on the deep-sea floor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- A single filter showing the organic matter from four liters of seawater. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Eleanna Grammatopoulou gets a lesson in launching at CTD from two experts, Brian Clampitt from the R/V Thomas G. Thompson, and Marshall Swartz from WHOI. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Doug Bartlett pressurizes a culturing vessel for deep-ocean microbes to 15,000 pounds per square inch—the pressure at which the hadal microorganisms thrive. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Members of the science party watch the large fish trap being recovered. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Picking up, moving on
Monday, May 12, 2014
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- WHOI biologist Tim Shank gets an up-close look at animal tracks on the seafloor of the Kermadec Trench 10,000 meters (6.2 miles) beneath the surface during the final dive of the hybrid remotely operated vehicle Nereus. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Aberdeen biologist Alan Jamieson constructs a new fish trap out of materials taken from other instruments and borrowed from the ship’s stores. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- HADES cruise chief scientist Tim Shank (left) helps Alan Jamieson construct a new fish trap. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Whitman College undergraduate Gemma Wallace disassembles a “hard hat” protective shell so the flotation inside can be inspected. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Tom Lanagan, a WHOI technician and member of the Nereus team, inspects one of the glass flotation spheres for signs of age or weakness. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Matteo Ichino from the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton and Jeff Drazen from the University of Hawaii remove extra flotation from the hadal lander to compensate for the weight that was also removed. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Paul Benecke, ordinary seaman on R/V Thomas G. Thompson, helps set steady a flotation pack while it is bolted in place on the hadal lander. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- R/V Thomas G. Thompson chief engineer Jim Swanton (standing) assists Leighton Rolley from the Schmitt Ocean Institute with the design for a sediment core sampler to be attached to the hadal elevator. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Clif Nunnaly from the University of Hawaii (in sunglasses) helps Leighton Rolley bolt his prototype core sampler to the base of the hadal lander. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- R/V Thomas G. Thompson crew member signals the crane operator to lower the revised hadal lander into the water. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
All the Fish in the (Deep) Sea
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
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- Crew of the R/V Thomas G. Thompson begin a nighttime recovery of the fish trap. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Members of the HADES science team scour the inside of the fish trap for every last organism brought to the surface. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Paul Yancey from Whitman College photographs a snailfish that he will eventually test for the type and concentration of osmolytes in its cells. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Walter Cho from Point Loma Nazarene University empties an amphipod trap brought up from 8,000 meters—a depth that begins the region dominated by amphipods. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Amphipods feed voraciously on the bait in traps and will also turn on each other, cannibalizing other amphipods caught in the trap. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Organisms brought back to the surface by Nereus in the slurp chamber. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Santiago Herrera, a postdoc from WHOI, and Kirstin Meyer, a graduate student from the University of Oregon, examine one of the organisms brought up by Nereus from 8,000 meters. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Members of the HADES team examine an anemone-like organism from 8,000 meters in the Kermadec Trench. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Sadie Mills (right) from the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand and WHOI’s Santiago Herrera sieve a sediment sample for organisms that live beneath the seafloor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- (Left to right) Marshall Swartz from WHOI and Thomas G. Thompson crewmembers Brian Clampitt and Paul Benecki use a bit of old-fashioned seamanship to reinforce the strain relief on the tether connecting the depressor to the ship. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Our place in the deep ocean
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
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- Mario Fernandez, Casey Machado, Tim Shank, and Santiago Herrera (left to right) in the Nereus control room during an 8-hour dive to 6,000 meters. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer Mario Fernandez remotely pilots Nererus on the surface close to the ship during recovery of the vehicle. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Once Nereus is safely on deck, a scrum of scientists collects samples from the vehicle’s payload basket. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Immediately after a dive, Casey Machado (left), Tom Lanagan, and other members of the Nereus team begin readying the vehicle for another dive. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Scripps Institution of Oceanography microbiologist Doug Bartlett collects a water sample from the hadal elevator to study the microbial diversity of the deep ocean. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Hawaii biology grad student Mackenzie Gerringer dissects one of two snailfish recovered from 7,000 meters. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- R/V Thomas G. Thompson able-bodied seaman Brian Clampitt (left) instructs University of Aberdeen biologist Tom Linley in the art of splicing an eye into a line. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- A supergiant amphipod (Alicella gigantea) brought up in the fish trap from 7,200 meters. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Whitman College undergraduate Gemma Wallace dissects the supergiant amphipod with a little help from (left to right) cruise Chief Scientist Tim Shank, Paul Yancey, Jeff Drazen, and Doug Bartlett. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI’s Tim Shank and the University of Aberdeen’s Alan Jamieson attempt to identify some of the amphipods caught in the fish trap. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Update—and a Shrimp Story
Friday, May 2, 2014
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- The hadal lander returns to the surface with water samples from 6,000 meters and an unexpected surprise—a mud core inside one of the lander’s legs. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Scripps Institution of Oceanography microbiologist Doug Bartlett collects a water sample from the hadal lander. Bartlett will incubate microbes in the seawater under pressure to learn what types are specifically adapted to life at hadal depths. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The mud sample brought to the surface in the hadal lander’s leg proved to be an unexpected boon for Beatrice Lecroq from JAMSTEC, who searched the sediment grains for tiny shelled organisms known as foraminifera. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Santiago Herrera from WHOI (left) and Kirstin Meyer from the University of Oregon gather tissue samples from the large shrimp brought up in the fish trap while University of Hawaii biologist Jeff Drazen attempts to identify the species. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI biologist and cruise chief scientist Tim Shank, who has described three species of hydrothermal vent shrimp during his career, spends some time studying the hadal shrimp. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Nereus enters the water at the start of a successful dive to 6,000 meters at the southern end of the Kermadec Trench. (Video still image by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
What the Brittle Star Says
Saturday, April 26, 2014
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- A top-down view of the respirometer in the Nereus sample basket with an anemone in chamber B. (Provided by the Advanced Imaging & Visualization Laboratory, NSF, WHOI, and the HADES 2014 Expedition)
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- The slurp gun is deployed by the Nereus manipulator arm to collect a brittle star for the respirometer. (Provided by the Advanced Imaging & Visualization Laboratory, NSF, WHOI, and the HADES 2014 Expedition)
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- WHOI biologist Tim Shank (left) and University of Hawaii biologist Jeff Drazen get their first look at the organism captured by Nereus and placed in the respirometer designed by Drazen and Nunnally. (Video still by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
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- The respirometer returned to the surface after more than 24 hours on the seafloor aboard the hadal elevator deployed before Nereus began its dive. (Video still by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
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- The lone brittle star in the respirometer had the greatest total oxygen consumption during the course of the experiment, most likely because it is the most active of the five animals collected. (Photo courtesy of Clif Nunnally, University of Hawaii)
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- One of two sea cucumbers captured by Nereus and deposited in the respirometer. (Photo courtesy of Clif Nunnally, University of Hawaii)
Gifts from the Deep
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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- Sadie Mills from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand keeps track of specimens and samples in the bio lab after recovery of the fish trap. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The hadal lander is recovered to the deck of the ship with three amphipod traps (white cylinders) strapped to one leg. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Thomas Linley (left) removes pieces of muscle from a large cusk eel while Mackenzie Gerringer and Jeff Drazen from the University of Hawaii prepare samples for preservation and analysis. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Mackenzie Gerringer from the University of Hawaii prepares to remove the otoliths (ear bones) from a large rattail in the ship’s biology lab. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Nereus during a morning deployment from the stern of R/V Thomas G. Thompson. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The Nereus float pack is recovered after a dive. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Alan Jamieson (left) and Tim Shank remove a 7,000-meter pressure housing containing a still camera from the abyssal lander. (Photo by Jeff Reed, Montana State University)
Who Invited Murphy
Sunday, April 20, 2014
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- Leighton Rolley makes sure the winch re-spools the cable properly, after repairs to the level winder. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Marshall Swartz keeps an eye on the wuzzle as the winch unspools. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- A team prepares a weight to go over the stern of R/V Thomas G. Thompson to test repairs to the winch. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Marshall Swartz (foreground) and Leighton Rolley examine a wuzzle on the winch drum caused by a faulty level winder, a mechanism that keeps the cable properly positioned on the drum while the winch is spooling or unspooling. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Meet Nereus
Friday, April 18, 2014
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- The three parts of Nereus: the vehicle (background), the depressor (gray cylinder), and the float pack. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The depressor is connected to a support ship by several hundred meters of conductive cable that carries power, imagery, control signals, and data. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The depressor and float pack are launched first from the stern of R/V Thomas Thompson. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Once the depressor and float pack separate, several kilometers of optical fiber pay out in between, carrying live video, control signals, and data. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Testing 1, 2, 1500
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
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- University of Hawaii biologist Clif Nunnally stands ready to help retrieve a hadal lander—a baited camera trap used to attract and videorecord fish living in the deep ocean. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The hadal lander is lifted to the deck of R/V Thomas G. Thompson after a test deployment to 1,500 meters. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Aberdeen University biologist Alan Jamieson readies one of his two landers with fresh bait for redeployment. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The science team gathered in the main lab on the Thomas G. Thompson to see a best-of selection of photos and videos from Jamieson’s landers. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- The presence of food always attracts attention. (Photo courtesy of Alan Jamieson, ©Aberdeen University)
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- A chimera. (Photo courtesy of Alan Jamieson, ©Aberdeen University)
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- A blobfish. (Photo courtesy of Alan Jamieson, ©Aberdeen University)
Departure
Monday, April 14, 2014
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- WHOI engineer and Nereus co-team leader Casey Machado is literally surrounded by work as she readies the vehicle for a 40-day deployment to study the Kermadec Trench on board the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Even at sea, meetings are an inescapable fact of life. Here the Nereus Team prepares for the final day of mobilization with WHOI biologist and cruise Chief Scientist Tim Shank (left). (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer Chris Taylor (left) explains to Nereus co-team leader Phil Forte what is yet to be done to prepare the vehicle’s depressor, a weighted instrument package that also contains 40 kilometers (25 miles) of fiber-optic line. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- How many scientists does it take to assemble a chair? Members of the science party team up to ensure they have a place to sit. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer and Nereus co-team leader Casey Machado (center) gives the science party an orientation on the vehicle while other members of the Nereus team prepare it for sea. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Hawaii biologist Clif Nunnally attaches blocks of syntactic foam to a fish trap. The foam is capable of withstanding the high pressure of the deep ocean and will help the trap surface. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer Mario Fernandez performs a pre-dive check prior to a dip test of Nereus in Auckland Harbor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- A dip test of Nereus in Auckland Harbor enabled the team to perform an initial check of vehicle systems the night before leaving port. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- R/V Thomas G. Thompson left Auckland on April 11, bound for the Kermadec Trench just over 100 miles to the northeast. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Even the most experienced sailor still stops to admire the sunset. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
