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At the bottom of a sinkhole, the JSL encountered this swordfish, succumbing to mortal injuries after an apparent fight.
(photo: S. Pomponi)
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Unidentified at this point, an interesing association of two sponges (yellow and white) was discovered in another sinkhole.
(photo: A. Wright)
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The sinkholes that the reseachers visit are documented and mapped for future projects and for the benefit of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
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It is possible that these sinkholes act as whirlpools (and have for eons), pulling debris, the dead, and the dying to the bottom. In another hole just a few miles east, researchers uncovered what appeared to be the fossilized bones of some unknown animal. Out of curiosity (a good trait for scientists), they grabbed a few of the remains. Topside, everyone had a theory about the unexplained bones...mastodon, whale, Jimmy Hoffa. No one spent a considerable amount of time trying to prove or disprove their imaginative theories -- they were much more interested in starting to work on their new invertebrate samples. But, the bones will be circulated among other scientists upon the return of our ship. If geologists or paleontologists return to these waters, they'll have a field day in these mysterious holes.
Even the rims of the sinkholes, some 600 feet above the bottoms, are remarkable places where fields of thumb-sized corals grow at depths that corals shouldn't grow. The eyes of small fishes glow from the blackness beyond the sub. Crabs fight with eels, as if on cue, as the sub passes. Green-spotted fish walk along the bottom, their iridescent fins flashing. These places don't look like Earth, much less Florida!
The scientists on board have been searching for the unknown. It looks like they've found it.
August 23, 8:59am, 25 miles southeast of Long Key, Florida -- At this moment, the ship's crew has just launched the JSL on another deep collecting foray. In a few hours, they will be launching several small boats over the side of the RVEL. In the mean time, research divers are preparing their scuba rigs for an exploration of the nearby Tennessee Reef, just off Long Key. There, on the coral reefs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the scientists will collect an assortment invertebrates, then return to their ship-based labs to continue the arduous search for medicinal compounds.
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This branching sea fan, perched on the rim of a sinkhole, is smaller than a human hand. (photo: A. Wright)
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CLICK HERE to learn more about
our correspondent, Mark Carroll.
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