Seamounts for your smartphone

Satellite based estimates of the number of seamounts in the world number fall somewhere between 33,000 and 45,000 features, and the combined area of these seamounts is larger than South America. However, unlike beaches or even coral reefs, most people will never see a seamount.

Unless you show it to them on your smartphone, that is! Help eliminate the 'never-seen-a-seamount' problem with a little eye-candy designed to help you spread the word about these submerged mountain peaks. Download the Phoenix Island Protected Area (PIPA) seamount video here and put it on your smartphone.

This way you can show it around at the dinner party, or keep it handy just in case you find yourself on the front porch this summer, trying to explain the wonders of the ocean universe to Uncle Al. Let me if it works for you.

Squid Video: Feeding on lanternfish in Sur Canyon

Watch the 'Sebastes' Phantom remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center descend through the water column above Sur Canyon, CA. The robot meets a school of Dosidicus gigas near 370 meters depth. The Humboldt squid appear to be hunting bioluminescent Diaphus lanternfish in the water column. The squid follow the ROV down to the seafloor at 450 meters depth and strike the benthos, perhaps mistaking the lasers on the ROV for the bioluminescent fish.

The ROV is suspended from the NOAA ship Bell Shimada on a 500+ meter tether. The ROV is controlled by Dr. John Butler of NOAA SWFSC and his team of scientist-slash-ROV-pilots Scott Mau, Kevin Stierhoff, and Dave Murfin. Dr. Peter Etnoyer tagged along with support from Schmidt Research Vessel Institute. The team did a terrific job navigating 5 different sites in 3 different National Marine Sanctuaries along the West Coast last week.

Welker Seamount Sponge Reef

A couple of colleagues and I took a sub ride in Alvin down to 850 meters depth on Welker Seamount in the Gulf of Alaska in 2004, hoping to find abundant deep-sea coral gardens. Instead we found abundant deep-sea sponge gardens, with a few sea fans, like the pink Paragorgia bubblegum coral in the frame below.

What impressed most about this reef was that sponge coverage was high, you couldn't see the seafloor in some parts, and the sponges were habitat for hundreds (of thousands?) of small shrimp. The place was just littered with critters. Look closely and you'll see shrimps' beady eyes peeking out from the cauliflower shaped Farrea occa sponge colonies.