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June 3, 2005 Hi this is Katelyn from Clover Hill High School. I have two questions. Do you have any leisure time to do whatever you want, or do you research the whole day? Also, before you left for the expedition, did you plan what you were going to do each day? Hi Katelyn, We work long hours, but sometimes we get some time to do other things. On the ship, there is exercise equipment, a library, and a big collection of DVDs so there is plenty to do when we have a short break. We had planned in general what equipment needed to be deployed and what we needed to do for the first few dives. After that, much of the planning was driven by what observations we made from our night time tows with the camera system. But there is certainly an overall plan before any cruise leaves, although everyone has to be flexible to take advantage of new things that come along! Thanks for following the cruise! Susan Humphris How far do you have to go down in the sub before animals start to disappear? And what do you see when you go down? Nancy Hello Nancy, Animals exist throughout the water column. On one of my dives several days ago, we went through a large number of tiny jellyfish at about 1,320 feet depth (400 meters). As you go deeper, you see animals bioluminescing (glowing) at all depths. Animal distribution in the ocean is patchy—just like it is on land. Your question is difficult to answer for another reason! Many of the animals do not stay at one depth but show a behavior called "vertical migration" every day. During the night, they migrate up to shallower levels, most likely to feed, and then head back down to deeper depths during the day. Hence, depending on the time of day, you will see different animals at different depths! We see all kinds of organisms in the ocean, but one kind that has been underestimated is jellies. These animals are very delicate, so they are easily destroyed when scientists use nets to try to collect them. However, recent research by divers and carried out in other submarines has shown that there are many kinds of jellies, and they are incredibly abundant! Thanks for following Dive and Discover. Susan Humphris
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Hole Oceanographic Institution
