Ocean Expedition to 'Lost City' Hydrothermal Vents

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2480.htm

OCEAN EXPEDITION TO 'LOST CITY' USES ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS TO
LINK LAND, SEA-BASED EXPLORERS

July 25, 2005 — A precedent-setting ocean expedition will use "telepresence" to connect Robert Ballard at sea with Chief Scientist Debbie Kelley ashore as they explore the unique Lost City hydrothermal vents. The July 23 through August 1 mission is financially supported and coordinated by NOAA. (Click image for larger view of one of four pinnacles that form the summit of the 200-foot tall carbonate chimney called Poseidon in the Lost City hydrothermal field. The white chimney in the foreground is actively venting 55 degrees C fluids. As the chimneys age, they turn grey to brown in color, such as the one shown towards the back. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit NOAA / University of Washington.)

"Lost City is a remarkable, unique field of tall chimneys that spiral up from the ocean floor, and we are telling its story in real time through a precedent-setting ocean expedition that raises the bar on use of communications technology," said Ballard, University of Rhode Island oceanography professor and the expedition's principal investigator. "Normally, on a deep-ocean expedition, I talk with the mission's chief scientist across a table on the research vessel," he said. "In this case, we talk across the planet.

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We need to support research much more for Fun and furthering the knowledge base. Much cheaper with stellar results.