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NEW LIFE, ENERGY SOURCES FOUND DURING GULF OF MEXICO EXPLORATION
The preliminary findings of the two-week cruise were presented during a news conference today in Key West, Fla. "Ocean exploration and expeditions like this one are helping unravel the mysteries of the ocean. The findings from this mission will inspire new developments with far-reaching benefits," said D. James Baker, NOAA administrator. In daily journal entries posted on a Web site, scientists described the many exotic life forms that were encountered thousands of feet beneath the surface including a squid with ten-foot-long tentacles, 200-year-old giant tube worms, seep sharks, a blue octopus, densely packed deep-sea mussel beds, and mysterious cones and "gray puff-balls"—thought to be colonies of deep dwelling bacteria. "Three dozen scientists and observers have just completed a very productive and exciting mission. The partnerships built for this mission is how ocean exploration should be done. The only way to reach these remote frontiers is to create a national effort," said Alvin Expedition Coordinator Andy Shepard. Their research also provided further evidence of violent undersea storms. These deep-sea "weather patterns" result from strong currents that arise suddenly and sweep along the base of the escarpment. They have enough power to threaten energy production platforms in deep water. Discoveries from the mission are also expected to lead to a better understanding of energy resources in the form of frozen methane gas hydrate deposits, and of the Gulf's unexplored deep ecosystems, especially around bubbling oil and gas "seeps" in the ocean floor. We have answered a few questions and asked a whole lot more. This era of ocean exploration comes at a time when the keys to the past and the energy supplies for the future may indeed lie in the deeper parts of the ocean," said Dr. Ian Mac Donald, Alvin Exploration Chief Scientist." The expedition, which departed from Galveston, Texas, on Oct. 16, is Alvin's first to the Gulf in eight years. With this trip, Alvin has made 3,637 dives since it was launched in 1964. The submersible spent 100 hours underwater carrying 42 people, three at a time, on dives ranging from 1,000-3,300 meters in depth (approx. 3,000 - 10,000 ft). NOAA sponsored the expedition through its National Undersea Research Program Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Other organization's participating in the expedition include Texas A & M University, Louisiana State University, University of South Carolina, The College of William and Mary, Minerals Management Service; Department of Energy, and NOAA's National Ocean Service. DSV Alvin and its mothership R/V Atlantis are operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Relevant Web Sites
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November
1, 2000 — A
blue octopus, abyssal storms, and confirmation of frozen methane
gas hydrate deposits—a promising new energy source trapped
in ice—are some of the preliminary findings of an exploration
of the Gulf of Mexico by America's deepest-diving, human-occupied
submersible,