Dr. Christopher Kelley, the Program Biologist for HURL said at the Middle Bank dive sites researchers found sponges that “were absolutely bizarre.” During radio transmissions between the submersible Pisces IV and the support ship, one observer remarks when first seeing these sponges, “it looks like something out of Dr. Seuss!”

Kelley will be working with other scientists to identify the sponges and he said: “There are lots of things down there that are just brand new. We don’t know what they are and this is a fantastic opportunity to try and help the monument and determine what some of the deep water resources are.” Other participants on the cruise included Dr. Jeff Drazen and Dr. Les Watling, both of whom observed corals and fishes that are potentially new to science.

This was also the first time the HURL program used High Definition (HD) video cameras to capture images of their deep ocean work. The quality of the HD video is so good, scientists expect to be able to identify some animals from the video alone, rather than having to collect actual specimens.

Kelley said HD is a fabulous research tool and provides such outstanding detail that you can see individual polyps on corals. In addition to its research value, HD video brings the deep sea experience to people. Kelley said, “It’s really the type of quality we see out the windows of the submersible; people are going to be seeing what we’re seeing. People are going to see why we’re so excited about these deep water environments, because these animals are spectacular.”

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries funded the dives within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Additional dives near Ni‘ihau were conducted by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and focused on fish movement patterns and undersea geology.

View from porthole of Pisces V at 1200m (from 2007)

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