Recently, I found out that Oceana Europe was planning a sea turtle bycatch expedition (turtles accidentally caught in fishing gear) and that they were headed out to sea on a Spanish pelagic longline boat with a film crew to document the problem and collect data. To those of you not as familiar with fishing, longline … Read more

Most potential effects of climate change – considerable changes in air and sea temperature, sea level rise, increased flooding and desertification, and so on – are now so well established that the topic has recently been turned into a major summer blockbuster. That was Hollywood of course, which the Webster’s American Dictionary defines as ‘exaggeration … Read more

August 19, 2004: After a rockin’ and rollin’ night on the ship, the morning news is a surprise to nobody. Today’s dive is cancelled. Winds are over 30 knots and the seas are rife with 10-plus foot waves, beyond the safety margins to safely launch and recover the ALVIN. Sadly, the “Caldera of Doom” on … Read more

August 18, 2004: The previous evening’s multi-beam mapping revealed an interesting structure on the adjacent Ely Seamount: a volcanic crater on the summit. The P.I.’s decide to dedicate the last dive of the cruise tomorrow to exploring this structure. There’s bound to be something of interest for both the geologists and the biologists on this … Read more

August 17, 2004:The Atlantis is holding its position 800 meters over the summit of Giacomini Seamount, the last seamount we’ll be exploring on this expedition. Tom Shirley and Peter Etnoyer are cruising the flank of the seamount in Alvin while collecting samples for their research. Towards the end of every dive, the scientists in the … Read more

The New York Times had a huge story about mercury yesterday. I can hardly do better than the title — “E.P.A. Says Mercury Taints Fish Across U.S.“: WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 – The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday that fish in virtually all of the nation’s lakes and rivers were contaminated with … Read more

August 16, 2004: The video we collected on our dive to Pratt seamount allows for an unlimited number of opportunities to revisit the seafloor. Each dive has generated a treasure trove of digital video data. A hard-working team of undergraduate and graduate students, NOAA scientists, and research assistants has diligently reviewed each minute of footage … Read more

August 15, 2004 (continued): Grenadiers (or rattails) are the most common fish at this depth. One swims directly up to my porthole to check us out. They have huge eyes and a long, undulating serpent-like tail; they’re halfway between cute and freaky. Thousands of tons of these fish are killed and discarded each year in … Read more

August 15, 2004: We’re sinking! But don’t worry, I’m in Woods Holes’ famous Alvin submarine, and sinking is exactly what it’s designed to do. We’re descending 3/4 of a mile beneath the sea to a rocky slope on Pratt Seamount in the Gulf of Alaska. Our pilot is Bruce Strickrott, an experienced sub pilot with … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 14, 2004: Tomorrow will be my first dive in the Alvin, so it’s time for an equipment and safety briefing. I’m getting very excited. This is the same Alvin that photographed the Titanic, the same Alvin that … Read more