The bottom of the ocean is a largely unknown habitat — but now you can explore it from the comfort of your desk chair. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is live-streaming its three-week investigation of the Gulf of Mexico basin. The ship Okeanos Explorer set out last Thursday to examine the location and contents of deep-sea habitats in the gulf. The team of scientists will conduct multiple dives using sea rovers, each capable of diving up to 6,000 meters, between now and the end of the month. This is the third leg of a three-part mission that started in February, and the data collected will provide a deeper level of knowledge about deep-ocean habitats than ever before.
Seeing the Ocean Floor
This site had a fantastic “amphitheater of chemosynthetic life," researchers said. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Gulf of Mexico 2014 Expedition. But the researchers aren't keeping this adventurous journey to themselves. Courtesy of the NOAA live stream from the rover Deep Discoverer, you can get the rover's viewas it films strange creatures, coral beds, shipwrecks, and maybe even a few mud volcanoes thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface. The research team provides live commentary of what they’re seeing. Another feed shows real-time footage overlaid with data that scientists are looking at to guide the mission. A third stream shows the view from the Seirios camera sled. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the view from Earth’s last unexplored frontier. In addition to the top video, here are some alternate views:
