Tuesday 8th February
Today's contributor: Jon Copley
While the weather abated today, we have repeatedly used the CTD probe to collect more samples of water and particles from right above the "black smoker" vents on the East Scotia Ridge.
By the evening, the seas had calmed sufficiently for us to launch our SHRIMP camera system. After taking two hours to reach the seafloor 2400 metres deep below us, we towed SHRIMP over vent areas that we first saw in 2009 and mapped in detail last year, to see how life around the vents changes over time.
Deja vu: octopus welcomes us back to the vents
Returning to the vents was like revisiting old friends. For example, we encountered an octopus in almost exactly the same spot on the seafloor where we found one last year (was it the same animal, we wonder?). Elsewhere we have noticed changes, however, which will help us to understand the natural variability in life at vents.
More old friends (count the number of arms...)
The SHRIMP dive lasted through the night, also exploring areas that we had not visited on previous expeditions. It was also the first dive for SHRIMP carrying a pan-and-tilt camera system, which the ROV team have managed to add to the vehicle out here. Being able to look around, in addition to the downward-looking camera that we use to map life on the seafloor, was a very welcome enhancement.