Bubblegum coral bush

Reddish-orange lophelia pertusa

A wide-eyed octopus wondering how he ended up in a sample dish.

The head of a red something.

Two ophiuroid starfish.

Mouth of an ophiuroid brittlestar.

A long-legged squat lobster

A large melon sponge, a crinoid waving in the current, and what appears to be sunken marine plastic debris to the right. The ripple marks in the sand indicate a high current regime as the study site was on the east side of the Gulf Stream.

Zooplankton drifting in the Gulf Stream.

A strong current is running here as shown by the orientation of the crinoids. Because of the current, the ROV was difficult to control in this area.

A strong current is running here as shown by the orientation of the crinoids. A strong current is running here as shown by the orientation of the crinoids.

An orange starfish.

Coral and some sort of orange animal.

Lophelia bush with squat lobsters, crinoids, an urchin, and a startled fish.

A cold seep community of mussels, white shrimp, and small white anemones.

A cold seep community of tube worms, squat lobster, white shrimp, and mussel shells. The tubeworms mine for sulfide in the carbonate substrate with their roots. The sulfide is metabolized by bacteria living in the tubeworms, and the energy produced sustains both organisms. It is a classic symbiotic relationship.

A black smoker community comprised of giant red tubeworms and hundreds of squat lobsters. This vent is located in Strawberry Fields of the Main Endeavour hydrothermal field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Vibrant colonies of tube worms with red gills thrive on this vent which is predominantly composed of iron- and sulfur-bearing minerals.

Closeup of Walter Cho examining a brittle star in the laboratory.

Bathymetric maps guide scientists as they explore the seafloor for coral and reef sites. Adding color to the maps provides visual cues. Later collection data and marker data can be added to the GIS information creating enriched visual information systems.

Large scale photo mosaics help scientists relocate sites that have been previously studied.

Normally yellow vibrant coral colonies are here with seemingly dark "wilted" or reduced polyps. The commonly symbiontic brittle star starfish do not typically have white (bleached) arms as seen here. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

Fisher coral and what appears to be a large odd-appearing anemone on lower right.

The gorgonian sea fan Callogorgia americana and symbiotic brittle stars.

The sea fan Paramuricea sp. with the symbiotic brittle star Asteroschema sp. from a site in the Garden Banks region of the Gulf of Mexico. This apparently healthy coral was observed during the first leg of the cruise at approximately 360 meters depth and over 450 km away from the site of the Deepwater Horizon.

One of the impacted corals with attached brittle starfish. Although the orange tips on some branches of the coral is the color of living tissue, it is unlikely that any living tissue remains on this animal. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

One of the impacted corals with an attached brittle starfish and an anemone in a typical place on the coral. Living tissue, including the coral polyps, can be seen here as the olive colored with bare patches revealing skeleton and attached brown flocculent material. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

A single colony of coral with dying and dead sections (on left), apparently living tissue (top right) and bare skeleton with very sickly looking brittle star on the base. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

The gorgonian sea fan Callogorgia americana and symbiotic brittle stars from a site at approximately 350 meters depth in the Green Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico. In the bottom left of the image are some small brown anemones that have colonized a portion of the skeleton of the sea fan.

A closeup of the upper portion of a yellow octocoral with parts of the branches , with tissues and polyps present, covered with a brown flocculent material. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

A potentially dying coral colony with two attached brittle stars and two anemones. A small amount of apparently living tissue on some branches is orange to olive in color. Portions of the skeleton lacking tissue or covered by brown flocculent material. The brittle star is a normal symbiont of this type of coral, however the bleached white color of the arms is not typical.

Three corals near the center of the site. Two corals covered in brown flocculent material (at left) with apparently no living tissues, and one coral (lower right) with still living (yellow) tissues. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

A coral atop one of the highest points within the site showing still living coral tissue mostly encompassed by a brittle seastar with other branches lacking tissue and feeding polyps covered with brown flocculent material. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

A close up of one of the impacted corals and an attached brittle star. A small amount of apparently living tissue on some branches is orange. Most of the skeleton is bare or covered by brown flocculent material. Image taken shortly after Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A close up of one of the impacted corals. A small amount of apparently living tissue on the tips of some of the branches is orange. Most of the skeleton is bare or covered by brown flocculent material. Deepwater Horizon aftermath.

The Jason ROV flight crew know exactly where the ROV is at all times and through a series of cameras mounted on the ROV can capture images and video of the scientific work.

Sargassum weed

A rock outcropping with numerous iridogorgia and metallogorgia corals and a large white sponge in the center.Dive 11.

A lone boulder colonized by a large yellow sponge, a delicate vase sponge, and other fauna. Dive 11.

A beautiful spiralling Iridogorgia with barnacles colonizing its very end. For scale, the coral is 5-feet tall. Dive 11.

Paragorgia with large white sea stars. This coral appears to have been recently broken and knocked over.

A small orange anemone in what appears to be either a clam or scallop shell.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp.on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp.on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp.on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp., at 1900 meters depth on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp.on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A bubble-gum coral (Octocorallia) Paragorgia sp.with a brisingid sea star on Balanus Seamount. Dive 12.

A white paragorgia with brisingid sea star and numerous smaller brittle stars clinging to branches. Dive 12.

Yellow sponges, a long bamboo coral extending upwards and unidentified corals on the rock face.

Looking down on a large white sponge with small corals covered with brittle stars on sea floor.