[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 13, 2004: Man… the combination of high definition underwater cameras and a submersible with dexterous mechanical arms is unbeatable. With this set-up, we’re able to observe and record deep-sea corals alive in their natural habitat, then collect … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 12, 2004: Y’arr! It’s been thirteen days without sight of land. In fact, we’re so far offshore that we’re nearing the edge of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States. The EEZ is the boundary … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 11, 2004:Today was the last day on Welker seamount. Some interesting things have been documented during our 4 days of exploration. Huge fields of glass sponges, a fleeting glimpse of a deep-sea anglerfish, and corals, corals, corals. … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 10, 2004: Last night a few of us made an amazing discovery: big squid will hit a “pixie” fishing lure! On light line, it’s quite sporting. They’re hard to keep on, and we fail to land one, … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 7, 2004: Rocketing up from the depths, the ‘crab elevator’ breaks the surface. We set the crab elevator the day before, it’s been soaking for a day, and we’re eager to check out today’s catch. The ‘crab … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 6, 2004: Last night we launched the CTD. Marine biology is fairly light on acronyms, but this is one we throw around often. “C” stands for conductivity (a measure of salinity), “T” for temperature, and “D” for … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 5, 2004: While there’s always duping, clipping, editing, and highlighting those “oh cool!” moments of underwater video to be done, the flurries of activity really begin when the Alvin breaks the surface after a dive. Tom Shirley‘s … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. August 4, 2004: Last night we left Denson Seamount and moved on to Dickins Seamount. Dickins is a shallower seamount, so I’m hoping to see more marine life. The waters above seamounts are supposed to be more productive … Read more

[editor’s note, by Jason] Jon Warrenchuk is currently participating in NOAA’s 2004 Gulf of Alaska Seamount Expedition. AUGUST 3, 2004: Forget all this science. The real reason we’re here is to squish Styrofoam cups! It’s so cool! You take a standard Styrofoam coffee cup, decorate it with artistic license (mine had a “Jaws” theme), and … Read more