Operation Deep Slope 2007. This tiny orange sea anemone is growing on a rock near a natural asphalt site.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. This tiny orange sea anemone is growing on a rock near a natural asphalt site.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster on a rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster on a rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster on a rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Beautiful pink soft coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster traversing beautiful pink soft coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster traversing beautiful pink soft coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster traversing beautiful pink soft coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A study in white and brown. White squat lobster, white sea anemone, and other white organisms living on a white rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster tiptoeing through the corals.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster on a rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Squat lobster on a rock outcrop.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Well-camouflaged shrimp living in coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Well-camouflaged shrimp living in coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Orange crab providing mobile home for small white barnacles. Look closely at the barnacles and note feeding tentacles.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Orange crab providing mobile home for small white barnacles. Look closely at the barnacles and note feeding tentacles.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Brittle stars on deep sea coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Brittle stars on deep sea coral.

Operation Deep Slope 2006. The "charismatic" deep sea isopod, Bathynomis giganteus.

Operation Deep Slope 2006. The "charismatic" deep sea isopod, Bathynomis giganteus.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A sea urchin seemingly suspended on a coral bush.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A sea urchin.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A cold seep area. What is causing the piles of mud?

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A cold seep area. What is causing the piles of mud? It appears something is alive in the mud.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A cold seep area. What is causing the piles of mud? It appears something is alive in the mud. What is it?

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Hole left by coring tube. White specks are small mud-dwelling arthropods.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Hole left by coring tube. White specks are small mud-dwelling arthropods.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Bacterial mat in the vicinity of a cold seep.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Bacterial mat in the vicinity of a cold seep.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A chemosynthetic community of mussels, shrimp, tube worms, a large isopod, and what appears to be a white chiton in the upper left.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Dead and alive mussels and tube worms.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Dead and alive mussels and tube worms.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep site.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels, shrimp, and a tube worm at a chemosynthetic cold seep site.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A chemosynthetic community of mussels, shrimp, tube worms, and what appears to be a white chiton in the lower left.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. A chemosynthetic community of mussels, shrimp, tube worms, and what appears to be a white isopod in the upper center.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.

Operation Deep Slope 2007. Mussels and shrimp at a chemosynthetic cold seep community.