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MISSION DISPATCH 3 August 19, 2007 Mark Schrope - @SEA Correspondent aboard the R/V SEWARD JOHNSON A Couple of Good Catches Our first full day of operations went very smoothly. The seas aren't calm—about two to four feet plus—but fine for launch and recovery of the submersible and the small boat. So, we had two full sub dives along with scuba and snorkeling in between. 
Defining Flat
Edie Widder was in the sphere for the first dive with Harbor Branch sub pilot Craig Caddigan. Priority one was to deploy the Eye-in-the-Sea, so they headed straight for the "flat" area Sonke had identified yesterday. But, as it turns out, flat enough can mean something a little different to the owner of the expensive, one-of-a-kind system. Accordingly, they had to search a little more but did find a spot they thought would work. As soon as they set it down, though, EITS began to tip over. Despite no doubt being distracted by the loud yelp from Edie, Craig was able to show off his expert manipulator arm skills and grab EITS before it fell. Into the Blue Once the sub was back on deck, a team left in one of the ship's small boats for a bluewater dive, so named because they involve venturing into deep and very blue water without ever going to the bottom. The divers went to about 60 feet down, to collect samples of the jellyfish and other animals that reside there. They used a system of ropes all connected to a surface buoy to keep them from diving too deep in the seemingly perpetual blue, which can be so disorienting that you could otherwise lose track of how deep you had gone. 
The team gathered a number of very small jellyfish, perhaps a quarter of an
inch long, and were most excited about one type that showed red fluorescence
back in the laboratory under special lighting. Green fluorescence in jellyfish
has been heavily studied, but red is more rare. Proteins, which are also the
stuff of hair, muscle, and a host of other components essential to life, are
the same class of compounds that can give animals fluorescence. Any time a new
one can be found there is potential that it might be useful in biomedical
studies. Alas, the red in the jellies captured on the dive turned out to be
caused by algae they had eaten. The group is also gathering samples to work
with by towing a net behind the ship and today this method also led to the
collection of red fluorescent jellyfish not caused by algae, so Misha
Matz will be studying these more closely.
After the bluewater dive came back, the sub crew went in to scuba dive on the wreck of a sunken barge very close to Gouldings Cay. Another group of us took the second small boat near New Providence to snorkel on the reefs there and explore a cave in the cliff. It was apparently a popular place for getting rid of a few things as we found the wreck of a small airplane and the remains of a truck, along with a few barracudas and some blue corals that Edie thinks are fluorescent. Perhaps we'll need to come back for a night dive to see for sure. 
Rolling With It
For the second submersible dive, Tammy Frank was in the sphere with Craig. Remember the two shrimp/crab traps precariously placed behind the sponge yesterday? We don't know who or what moved them, but the traps had rolled down the slope quite a ways. They did contain two very large shrimp, and the deep-sea equivalent of rolly pollys, though much larger, known as isopods, so Tammy forgave the questionable placement. Tammy and Craig also had a look at the small cave that yesterday was filled with shrimp. Today, they found a fish—an apparent bully, as the shrimp were nowhere to be found. Later they returned to the site to deploy the trap and found the fish gone and at least some of the shrimp back. Tammy is hoping some of them will find themselves in the laboratory tomorrow. 
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