However, we were not disheartened by our echinoderm in Emperor's
Clothes. Quite the contrary—we were enthralled to be able to hold
and photograph a creature that may be new to science. DNA analysis
of our denuded pink cucumber will reveal its relationship to other sea
cucumbers in the Pacific Ocean.
Having the technology and experience onboard the
R/V Western
Flyer that we are fortunate to have, one develops a great respect for the
marine biologists who pioneered the field. As recently as the early
1970s, basic concepts of marine science such as plate tectonics (the idea
that the crust of the Earth's surface is composed of a series of
interconnected plates that meet at junctions where the fate of the crust
may be birth, such as the spreading center at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or
death as at the Mariana Trough in the Western
Pacific Ocean) and the presence of hydrothermal vent
communities were mere
fantasies to much of the field. Today, sitting in the control room
of the Western Flyer as the Tiburon flew over pillow basalts and elaborate
lava sculptures 2400 meters below us, I realized the profound amount of
work and knowledge that has been
done in the marine science field. Today, plate tectonics and vent
systems are firmly established in the marine science literature and
textbooks. It is indeed exciting to extrapolate to the next 30
years. It is truly an exciting time to experience the exploration and
discoveries of the ocean.
Today was a truly unusual day. Other than being a
much shorter dive (only 6 hours on the bottom), we collected no animals.
We had continued our search for the elusive Alarcon hydrothermal vents,
but in the end, we found no vents or bivalves. This doesn't
mean
we didn't see any exciting animals today—we saw pink sea cucumbers, a few
octopuses, starfish, and tunicates among others. Also during dinner
this evening, we were greeted by a pod of hundreds of Pacific
white-sided dolphins swimming on the bow wave of the boat while schooling with
yellowfin tuna.
Tonight, we begin our 17 hour transit to 21º North on the
East Pacific Rise (EPR). Here, we will continue our exploration of
hydrothermal vents. This will be the farthest point that the Western
Flyer will be from Moss Landing during this 103-day oceanographic
expedition.
Joe Jones
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