Journal Entry
Focus On Benthos

Benthic organisms live along the bottom of the seafloor. They include producers and consumers, ranging from worms to sea stars to microbes. The ROV helps scientists on the expedition see benthic organisms in their environment (and can be used for sampling as well), and the box corer allows scientists to bring up a container of sediment which may be analyzed for organisms and physical content. We are all looking forward to the first science station to utilize all of the cool scientific instruments that have been brought on the expedition. Here are a couple of photos from organisms recovered from the first test run of the box corer a few days ago.

Sea starA tiny sea star found in sediments from the box corer. BenthosBenthic organisms collected from a test run of the box corer.

Question and Answer

Question: Why did I include a "Sharpie" in the photo of the sea star?

Answer from last Q: It is approximately 941 miles (as the crow flies) from Kodiak to Barrow.

Comments

Tue, 07/12/2016 - 19:22

Michelle Eno

That little sea star is so cute! "He" is so tiny; I got out one of my Sharpies just to see exactly how small "he" would be. Of course you would have to use something like Sharpie in order to be able to make a size comparison! How big can they get in that area- does the colder water influence/ impact how much they grow? What is the organism on the upper right, just to the right of the thing that looks like a stick coming out of the water? The organism seems to have a wavy part on top, and a smoother part on the bottom. You guys are doing some really neat stuff; keep it up!

Mon, 07/18/2016 - 18:05

Airlia Gustafson

How far down do you have to go to find these creatures? What does the bottom topography look like in the areas you are studying? And what forces are in play to have it look that way? The photos and journal are wonderful! Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you!

Wed, 07/20/2016 - 14:47

Sandra Thornton

Airlia - These creatures were in the 500-700 meter range, but we are currently on a 2600+ meter station. Bottom topography varies - there are ridges and valleys - but also bottom that is more uniform. When we were viewing the seafloor via the benthic ROV dive, we were in an area with fairly uniform seafloor. The sediments are very "sticky" and made of very fine clay particles often with small bits of gravel in the mud. Some locations are even stickier than others and take longer to sieve. Thanks for following. This has been, and continues to be, an amazing experience!