Squid, Scour Marks, and Shipwrecks
August 22, 2012 - When you're an Exploration Vessel like the Nautilus, you are looking for anything found in the ocean. Today was the perfect example of a true Science Exploration Day on the Eratosthenes Seamount! Within the last twenty-four hours, we had three different and amazing scientific sightings- a rare sighting of mating squid (Biological), took samples of the muddy sediment near possible whale scour marks (Geological), and went to rescan the area of an Ottoman Empire shipwreck nicknamed the "Pistol Wreck" for its amazing flintlock pistol artifact that our scientists discovered back in 2010 (Archaeological)!
Eratosthenes Seamount
Nautilus was diving at the Eratosthenes Seamount in search of signs indicating active hydrothermal vents, where warm chemical-rich water is seeping out of the seafloor, and the exotic animals that live on them. While searching for evidence of geological and biological activity, we came across both modern and ancient garbage.