Remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer traverses the steep wall of the paleo-reef structure explored during the eighth dive of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Dense patches of soft corals in the genus Chyrsogorgia and exceptionally large colonies of octocorals in the genus Thourella dotted the wall, with interspersed Iridiogorgia sp. corals as well. Along the wall, we collected a sample of an unknown plexaurid octocoral species.
Deep Discoverer Traverses a Steep Wall
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts. Download larger version (jpg, 671 KB).

Remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer traverses the steep wall of the paleo-reef structure explored during the eighth dive of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Dense patches of soft corals in the genus Chyrsogorgia and exceptionally large colonies of octocorals in the genus Thourella dotted the wall, with interspersed Iridiogorgia sp. corals as well. Along the wall, we collected a sample of an unknown plexaurid octocoral species.

Learn more