A giant snake eel pokes its head out of an old shipwreck lying on the Gulf of Mexico's deep seafloor. Lollipop sponges and several different kinds of anemones inhabit the wooden planking of the wreck. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).
ROV Dive Highlights
Video footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV and camera platform during the April 19 ROV dive from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012. The dive was conducted at site 359 - a large, stoutly built and remarkably intact mid to late 19th or early 20th century wooden-hulled sailing ship covered with marine life. Although deteriorating, the wooden hull is thought to be the best-preserved wooden shipwreck yet discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2012. Download (mp4, 327.2 MB)
Dive number seven was conducted today at site 359 - a large, stoutly built and remarkably intact mid to late 19th or early 20th century wooden-hulled sailing ship covered with life. Although deteriorating, the wooden hull is thought to be the best-preserved wooden shipwreck yet discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists participated in the dive from all over the U.S., including the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi; Silver Spring, Maryland; Houston, Texas; Louisiana State University; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
