08/24/03
Danielle, a high school
senior in Wake County, North Carolina, asked:
What makes the coral you have found different from the other
coral along the coast?
Lophelia is a deep-water coral that lives below the photic (light)
zone. It therefore lacks the symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae
(which may be algae or bacteria) that shallow-water corals experience.
Lophelia is a "hard" coral that lays down a calcium
carbonate shell as it grows. Soft corals such as fan corals, do
not create any long-term structures, although some can be considered
colonial like Lophelia.
Danielle, a high school
senior in Wake County, North Carolina, asked:
What is the most interesting or unique creature you
have seen?
One of the most amazing things I have seen is a tiny blue and
white nudibranch, or sea slug which was found floating in sargassum.
It was only about an inch long but looked like something from
another planet. Art Howard, photographer, took a wonderful photo,
which revealed amazing details.
A North Carolina State
University student asked:
When you are in a submersible are you able to see the
ocean life around you through some type of scope or is it impossible,
and the submersible is just used for taking pictures that will
be developed later?
The submersible is primarily used for specimen collection, but
also allows a unique opportunity to film life under the sea. The
forward compartment is enclosed in a plexiglass sphere (5 ½
inches thick) from which there is a wide view of the ocean. Because
the view is exceptional, when photos or videos are needed, the
cameraman uses that vantage point. In addition, a sub-mounted
camera in front of the sphere can be operated from within the
sphere. All still photos and video from sub cameras are downloaded
immediately after the sub returns to the ship.
The passenger in the aft (rear) compartment is more cramped,
and must lie down to view the great outdoors through one of two
ports situated on either side of the compartment. A mini-screen
shows that passenger the film being taken by the camera up front.
Pictures taken from the rear compartment usually don’t come
out very well.
Leigh, a North Carolina
State University student, asked:
Have you ever witnessed the finding of a new species of marine
life? Are there opportunities for a student like me to get out
on the ocean for a summer study program? Also, is live rock harvesting,
mining, and cable laying doing very noticeable damage?
Liz Baird replied:
My first year out (2001) we found what we thought was a new species.
That specimen was hand-carried off the boat and sent to a specialist
for identification. That can be a long process, so we are still
waiting for the results. The specialist gets to name the find,
and traditionally names it after the person who discovered it,
the ship that was used to collect it, or the mission during which
it was found.
To seek information on summer study, start by talking to a professor
whose work includes ocean research. Several programs, such as
"Seamester," and "Semester at Sea,” focus
on
seamanship and probably include some research. Some summer courses
include short research cruises and some semester-long oceanography
classes include at least a weekend field experience.
Live rock harvesting, mining, and cable laying all have the potential
to do serious and irreparable damage to the reef ecosystem. These
activities are not taking place in the areas we are visiting,
although we do see many signs of fishing and trawling in the form
of lines, pipes, trash, and lost nets.
Sarah, a North Carolina
State University student, asked:
From reading about the artificial "reefs" caused
by events like shipwrecks, it seems that they attract sea life
and may even be beneficial. Based on your knowledge, is this an
accurate statement?
Yes Sarah, shipwrecks make good habitat for many species of fish,
especially those that tend to gather near hard reef systems. Some
successful work has been done to create artificial reefs by sinking
ships or depositing hard structures, but artificial, manmade habitats
can not entirely replace Mother Nature, as has been evidenced
quite often with attempts to recreate wetlands. Drums, trucks,
train cars and other large, heavy items have been dumped at sea
to create artificial reefs. Not only have these failed to correlate
to greatly increased species numbers or diversity, the long-term
problems of leaks and molecular changes (which occur when these
items erode and break down over the years) may pose life-threatening
problems that have not been explored.
Patrick, a North Carolina
State University student, asked:
What kind of technology do you have on the ship, as far as
computers, special radars or submarines? Also, have you ever found
anything valuable, like artifacts or treasures?
We have lots of technology on board. We use GPS to create real-time
maps of our track and destination, and the fathomemter to generate
long displays of the ocean's depth. The captain uses many instruments
(sonar and radar) to make certain we do not get too close to other
vessels. The scientists also use many different kinds of software
loaded on computers to keep track of all of the data and images
we generate -- MiniDV tapes are converted to DVDs, still images
become CDRs, sample sites are plotted on maps, and many other
pieces of information are stored for later use.
The most valuable thing we get from our dives is documentation
of the habitat as well as behaviors of the animals under the sea.
We have not found any artifacts or treasures.
