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TWO DAYS ON THE TERRACE Mission Dispatch 10 - April 15, 2005 | Mark Schrope - @SEA Correspondent Back at Harbor Branch 
After clearing customs Wednesday morning, the team made it offshore by the afternoon for the first JSL dive on the Miami Terrace, a 60-mile long, ancient deep-water reef just east of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. On Thursday, they were able to complete two sub dives as planned, despite deteriorating weather conditions. Forecasts that afternoon were calling for increased winds and seas approaching 15 feet Friday or Saturday, which ultimately forced the ship back to port at Harbor Branch a day ahead of schedule on Friday afternoon. This was the same storm system that spawned the mysterious 70-foot wave that slammed a Norwegian cruise ship. As during the last cruise to the area, the scientists found surprising variation in the life at different dive locations. Hard corals dominated one spot, soft corals another, and sponges still another. This was particularly surprising given that each site was part of the same geological feature and had roughly the same depth, temperature, and position relative to the Gulf Stream. "The big question is why," according to John Reed, but answering it will take quite a bit more time studying the reefs than has so far been possible. MYSTERIOUS FISH PARTY 
One of the highlights of the Miami Terrace dives was a massive aggregation of 100 or more deepwater grouper known as wreckfish in the same spot where they were seen during last year's cruise to the area in May. The team had invited a biologist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration out for this leg of the cruise to give him the chance to study the fish, because very little about them is currently known. Wreckfish are normally found farther north, and as far as we know this is the largest aggregation of them that has ever been found. It's not clear yet whether the wreckfish remain there year round, or whether they are using the site as a spawning area. If it is a spawning aggregation, the spot could be a vital source of the larvae that support more northern populations. 
THE NUMBERS
Overall the expedition was a huge success. Here are some final statistics on what was accomplished: • Submersible Dives: 18 • Scuba Dives: 13 • Samples Collected: 267 • Sightings of the lost city of Atlantis: 0 • Amount of the pirate treasure reportedly hidden on Cay Sal islands that was found: 0 • Value of potential biomedical discoveries: Priceless As always, determining the full results will take months if not years as the team performs laboratory tests to determine which compounds from organisms collected have the greatest potential for fighting diseases. The Media Lab would like to thank the Biomedical Marine Research team, and the ship and sub crews for making website coverage possible through their unfailing and much appreciated cooperation throughout the expedition. TILL NEXT TIME... 
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