Research vessels Related Content

Scientists Discuss their Submersible Experience
Dec 15 2009 - 6:00pm
Scientists talk about the experience of exploring the ocean in this excerpt from the Deep Ocean Explorers video. More about deep ocean exploration can be found in our Deep Ocean Exploration featured story.
Jul 27 2011 - 11:33am
In the wet lab aboard the R/V Seward Johnson, Dr. Martha Nizinski examines a sample of the deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa, collected 600-m (1,969-ft) deep off the coast of the southeastern United States.
Jun 7 2011 - 10:26am
The robotic arm of the Jason, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), collects several stalks of black coral from the seafloor. Read more about how underwater vehicles help ocean scientists study deep-sea corals in the multimedia feature "Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea."  
World Oceans Day 2012 - Live Webcast
May 24 2012 - 3:55pm
On World Oceans Day - June 8th, 2012 - the Living Oceans Foundation hosted a live web-based conversation between Sylvia Earle at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and a team of scientists researching coral reefs and their communities around the Galapogos Islands.
Jul 27 2011 - 9:27am
Deep-sea corals scientist Dr. J. Murray Roberts photographed these living polyps from the Mingulay Reef Complex off Scotland in aquaria in 2010.
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
In 2009 Dr. Vecchione served as Chief Scientist on a six-week expedition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge for the Census of Marine Life. He is shown here aboard the expedition ship, NOAA’s Henry B. Bigelow.
Jul 27 2011 - 10:46am
Dr. Amy Baco-Taylor observed corals like these on her first submarine dive to a deep-sea coral bed off the coast of Hawaii. They include primnoids, zoanthids, and Gerardia.
Mar 23 2010 - 12:02pm
Researchers bring a sediment core dug from the seafloor off the coast of Panama onto the deck of a ship. Cores like these are shedding light on what Earth’s climate was like in the past. More about climate change can be found in our climate change featured story.
Jul 5 2011 - 9:40am
Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean is the site of the Smithsonian's Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). Researchers are using a submarine to study and collect specimens from the hard-to-reach deep reefs. Read more about the research in the "Summer in a Sub" blog series.
Submersible Collects Deep-Sea Corals
Aug 12 2011 - 2:07pm
Come along as scientist Dr. Brendan Roark narrates a submersible dive to collect and study deep-sea corals. Roark studies deep-sea corals to understand the history of the ocean and past ocean climates.
Jul 14 2011 - 11:11am
Smithsonian zoologists inside the Curasub, a 5-person submersible. They're exploring the biodiversity of the deep reefs off Curaçao in the southern Caribbean. Read more and watch videos about the work in our "Summer in a Sub" blog series. 
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A cable connects a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to a ship at the surface, where it is operated by a pilot onboard the ship. The cable can extend for miles into the deep sea.
May 25 2012 - 1:26pm
Trying to get a good angle for a photo while underwater can be tough when you are working among currents and other distractions, like animal visitors. In this photo, Brian Skerry sits atop a 20 foot high underwater tripod to photograph the Aquarius Habitat off Key Largo, Florida. Skerry lived...
Aug 31 2010 - 9:56am
As children, many people have dreamed of plunging beneath the ocean surface to explore the unknown world below. Dr. Robert Ballard is living his childhood dream. He is among a small number of people who can list his occupation as “Undersea Explorer.”
The Ocean Drilling Vessel Chikyu
Dec 8 2009 - 10:57pm
The Chikyu allows scientists to gather and study data about seafloor sediments as soon as they are collected. After a powerful 9.0 earthquake triggered a devestating tsunami in Japan in March 2011, Japanese officials decided to use the Chikyu to explore the underwater fault zone.
Jul 2 2012 - 2:38pm
You’re out to sea on a 355 foot platform, and suddenly one end begins to slowly tip underwater. Should there be a call for evacuation? Are you sinking? Not if you’re on FLIP – the FLoating Instrument Platform – owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by Scripps Institution of...
Jun 7 2011 - 10:04am
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) SeaBed, shown here as it is about to be deployed, has been used to survey deep-sea fishes and coral habitats.
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This autonomous operated vehicle, known as an ABE (autonomous benthic explorer), will map sites where seafloor earthquakes have occurred—enhancing our understanding of these catastrophic events.
Jul 27 2011 - 3:28pm
We drove down a long dirt road on the northern side of Curaçao looking for a remote place to snorkel and sample. After a 30-minute bumpy ride, our team stepped out of the car into a breeze and the sounds of wind and crashing waves. It’s a moment I will never forget; although no one was in sight for...
Jun 7 2011 - 11:07am
The robotic arm of a Pisces submersible collects a gold coral colony (Gerardia sp.) during a research cruise in the Hawaiian Islands.
Aug 16 2012 - 1:45pm
Deploying ARMS (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures) is tricky in the deep sea, where SCUBA divers can't place and secure them to the floor with their hands and a hammer. Researchers with DROP (Deep Reef Observation Project) had to redesign the methods for deploying and retreiving ARMS, using...
Aug 9 2011 - 12:00pm
Ever since fourth grade I’ve wanted to explore the creatures and landscapes of the deep ocean in a submersible. It took awhile, but I finally got my chance this summer as part of the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP).
Aug 16 2011 - 1:05pm
The ocean is home to a phenomenal diversity of marine organisms. They have evolved to inhabit warm waters near the equator and the icy waters of the Earth’s poles. Marine life takes advantage of the enormous volume the ocean comprises: from diatoms living near the sunny surface, to octopods...
Deep Reef Observation Project  DROP  Video
Jul 5 2011 - 1:19pm
Dr. Carole Baldwin, a research zoologist and fish expert with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, gives viewers an inside-look at the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). She and her colleagues are trying to understand the biodiversity in coral reefs near Curaçao, an island in...