Research vessels Related Content

Jun 7 2011 - 1:00pm
The Johnson-Sea-Link submersible reaches the ocean’s surface with a specimen of Keratoisis bamboo coral inside its collection box. Find out how ocean scientists study deep-sea corals in our Deep-sea Corals article.
Video of Cirrate Octopod aka Dumbo Octopus
Dec 8 2009 - 7:02pm
This octopod is sometimes called a “Dumbo” octopod because its fins resemble the ears of Disney’s Dumbo the elephant. The video was recorded in 2003 on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by the Russian manned submersible MIR 2. More about deep ocean exploration can be found in our Deep Ocean Exploration...
Dec 8 2009 - 3:11pm
To explore the deep ocean, scientists rely on numerous pieces of high-tech equipment. This photo gallery showcases some of the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), submersibles, and other devices that have been used. Read about the Scarlet Knight, the first underwater robotic vehicle to cross an...
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."  
Jul 27 2011 - 9:31am
The Johnson-Sea-Link submersible launches to study cold-water corals off Florida in 2009. Explore more the multimedia feature "Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea." 
Deep-Sea Research 100 Years Ago on the US Fisheries Steamer Albatross
Sep 15 2011 - 2:13pm
The US Fish Commission Steamer Albatross (1882-1921) sailed approximately one million miles, in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and collected millions of organisms. The Albatross had a special and vital link with Smithsonian science, for the vessel was the brainchild of Spencer Baird, second...
Jul 31 2012 - 4:52pm
For three weeks, the MV Chertan is home-base for the scientific team and will be transformed in a floating laboratory to study volcanic CO2 seeps.
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 - 12:30pm
Last week, Smithsonian research zoologists Dr. Jerry Harasewych and Dr. Martha Nizinski were in Curaçao looking for deep-sea marine gastropods and decapod crustaceans, respectively.
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.
Ship Under a Bridge
Jan 14 2011 - 12:34pm
Ocean conditions change every hour of every day. Tides, currents, and winds are constantly in flux. NOAA’s real-time data helps huge ships navigate safely under bridges and around obstacles. Explore other videos that capture the beauty and mystery of the ocean realm at NOAA Ocean Today
Jul 29 2010 - 10:58pm
Using a deep-diving ROV, the crew aboard Oceana’s research vessel Ranger were surprised to discover large colonies of deep-sea white coral in the Western Mediterranean Sea in July 2010. Most of the Mediterranean’s deep-sea coral reefs are already gone as a result of destructive fishing techniques...
Jul 27 2011 - 10:56am
Two events made me passionate about deep-sea corals. One was my first submarine dive in a deep-sea coral bed off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. There was an incredibly lush community of corals and associated invertebrates that were not well known, let alone understood. A couple of years later, I...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
On May 31, 2009, this one-of-a-kind hybrid robotic vehicle reached the deepest part of the ocean—the Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean, 10,902 meters (6.8 miles) below the surface. That makes the remotely operated Nereus the deepest-diving vehicle currently in service.
Aug 13 2012 - 11:05am
The Mars rover Curiosity is sending images back home: glimpses of another world during a voyage of discovery. While Curiosity is clicking pictures millions of miles away, I am privileged to be taking part in my own voyage of discovery to the inner space of this planet.
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.
Jan 4 2011 - 5:17pm
Hidden beneath Arctic ice is a world few have ever seen. Take the icy plunge with a team of ice-loving scientists.
Jun 7 2011 - 9:28am
Ocean scientists safely travel to deep-sea coral ecosystems up to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) below the ocean’s surface inside the Johnson-Sea-Link, a submersible owned and operated by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Explore more in the multimedia feature "Coral Gardens of the Deep...
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. 
Jul 27 2011 - 11:12am
The Pisces IV submersible sits on a saddle near Kingman Reef in Hawaii next to a gold coral (Gerardia sp.).
Aug 16 2012 - 2:21pm
Submarine pilot Bruce Brandt secures ARMS (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures) to the submersible Curasub off the coast of Curacao. In shallow water, SCUBA divers can place these biodiversity-measuring structures on the seafloor by hand -- but in the deep, DROP (Deep Reef Observation...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Alvin, a human occupied vehicle (HOV), returns to the ship after a deep ocean dive to a seamount. 
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.
Jan 6 2011 - 10:48am
Ice divers Katrin Iken (left) and Elizabeth Siddon are about to descend through a hole in the Arctic ice and into the frigid world below.