On May 6, 2017, after finishing exploration of the seafloor as part of the Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin expedition, we conducted a series of midwater transects from 1,400 to 300 meters (~4,595 to 985 feet). During the transects, we observed a wide range of marine life, including a pelagic sea cucumber, numerous jellyfish species, chaetognaths (arrow worms), midwater fish, ctenophores (comb jellyfish), and multiple species of siphonophores (colonial jellyfish).
These transects increase our knowledge about the largest, yet one of the least understood, biomes on Earth. The dive took place in the Jarvis Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, which is one of the few units of the monument where the water column is protected in addition to the seafloor.
Download SD version (mp4, 23.1 MB).
Download HD version (mp4, 24.9 MB).
Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin.