Images

In active hydrothermal systems, hot hydrothermal fluid vents to cold seawater and supports communities of organisms that turn hydrothermal chemicals into energy. Here, tubeworms colonize an active hydrothermal vent at Escanaba Trough.

During the Escanaba Trough expedition, the ROV Jason encountered many inactive sulfide mounds, which were often covered in sponges, brittle stars and other organisms.

A research points to a screen displaying a bathymetric map of Escanaba Trough, using data from the submersible robot Sentry

A look at the control room of the remote-operated vehicle Jason during one of its dives on the Escanaba Trough expedition.

An animated GIF showing the difference in seafloor mapping resolution from satellite and multibeam sonar data.

The autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry being deployed from the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson during the 2022 Escanaba Trough Expedition.

The remote-operated vehicle Jason is retrieved after a dive during the Escanaba Trough expedition.

During the 2022 Escanaba Trough expedition, the ROV Jason from Wood Holes Oceanographic Institution dove to hydrothermal mounds more than 3,000 meters beneath the ocean surface. Among the diverse organisms found at these sites was a pale lavender deep-sea octopus.

SEA-KIT USV Maxlimer returning from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai caldera in Tonga. Photo courtesy of SEA-KIT International.

Researchers watch the sun rising over the island of Ofu, American Samoa, during fieldwork in July 2022.

Cover image for "Reducing Flood Risks by Restoring Coral Reefs - Spanish" video

The R/V Sallenger tows the structure-from-motion quantitative underwater imaging device with 5 cameras (SQUID-5) across the water over Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys.

Cover image for video featuring Curt Storlazzi, USGS titled, "Coral Reefs as National, Natural Infrastructure"

The former Mills reservoir restoration area on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, WA. This photo taken from the Glines overlook shows the revegetation that has occurred at the former reservoir post-dam removal.

Image showing NOAA research vessel with logos of NOAA, BOEM, USGS and MBARI. EXPRESS is a multi-year, multi-institution cooperative research campaign in deep sea areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, including the continental shelf and slope.

Illustration of NOAA research vessel conducting multibeam sonar survey of seafloor, courtesy of EXPRESS, or Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems.

Our coasts, the most familiar part of the ocean are the gateway to the larger deeper ocean world. USGS studies processes and hazards in the coastal zone and how they affect people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

Tom Lorensen, USGS Physical Scientist, uses an ultraviolet light to examine mineral samples aboard R/V Thomas G. Thompson.

Amy Gartman, USGS Research Oceanographer and chief scientist for the Escanaba Trough expedition, examines a mineral sample with a hand lens aboard R/V Thomas G. Thompson.

Close-up of fine-grained pyrrhotite-rich massive sulfide. The deep-sea sample was collected from the Escanaba Trough, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

Two hands are better than one! The versatile, ambidextrous ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Jason collects two mineral samples from the seafloor at Escanaba Trough. Jason's sample collection tubes are visible off to the left.