Digital Extra: Mountains in the Sea

Photo courtesy of the Mountains in the Sea Research Team, the IFE Crew,
and NOAA

The colors of the deep, such as this black whip-like coral Stichopathes, compete with the radiance of the night sky at sea.

Video

Watch live images of the expedition, scheduled to streamed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. NOAA will also be broadcasting live programs for an hour a day from the control van, with teachers and scientists interacting live with students on shore

More NOAA video clips of deep-sea corals

From the aft deck of this big ship, an island in the endless sea, last night I saw a bright red star glittering low on the horizon.

It was probably Mars, but it never glows red like that at home. Back in Providence, we can see Orion, the Big Dipper, Venus, and a few others, just a handful of pale stars in our small patch of sky. Here, the black sky fills half the world, and stars scatter across it in shimmering translucent clouds. That we've lost all this, the brilliance and the colors, is a sad price we pay for living in our warm civilized world.

Twelve days into our trip, keeping strange hours, confined to the ship's decks and cabins and labs and companionways, sleeping in narrow rocking bunks, everyone is getting a little homesick. We know that at home, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing, the dogs need walking, and who will keep the deer out of the garden?

In the main lab this afternoon, five of the science crew chatted on and on about the pets they miss at home. The ship downloads our e-mail twice a day, and it's a welcome connection with life on shore.

Yet every time the video screens fill with images from the seafloor, and every time the ROVs return with boxes full of creatures from the deep, the enthusiasm carries on, undiminished.

Most places that Hercules traveled over today had never been seen before, by anyone. The rocky terrain was dramatic, the colorful corals, sea stars, urchins, and shrimp are mesmerizing to watch. Hercules, after hours of tinkering by engineers, proved its hardiness, working hard all day without any mechanical problems.

Tonight, the ROVs are on deck, and most of the crew is getting some rest, playing pingpong, reading, or dozing in the movie lounge. Tomorrow, the exploration proceeds.