Latest news with #Falkor
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
This Squid Was Discovered in 1898. Scientists Just Saw It Alive For the First Time.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The Antarctic gonate squid, Gonatus antarcticus, had never been seen alive in the ocean until 2024, when it was filmed by an ROV late in the year. That footage has finally been released All that was known about this creature—which was first discovered in 1898—came from dead specimens that showed up in fishing nets. If it wasn't for hazardous weather that forced the expedition to stop short of the area it planned to cover, Gonatus antarcticus might have slipped into the darkness unnoticed. Far beneath the glaciers and ice floes of the Weddell Sea are dark Antarctic waters that have gone mostly uninfluenced by humans. Thousands of feet down lurk bizarre creatures: slithering deep-sea ribbon worms, siphonophores, sea pigs, and a species of squid that had never been seen alive until centuries after it first washed up on the shore. On board the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) in December of 2024, a team of scientists were exploring the Weddell Sea at depths of about 7,000 feet with the ROV SuBastian when they saw a flash of red in the darkness. Right at the edge of the Powell basin, SuBastian captured video footage of a massive squid drifting by and releasing a cloud of greenish ink. For the next few minutes, the squid floated around SuBastian, and the team managed to turn down the ROV's lights (to get an idea of how the squid interacts with its environment) and measure the creature using lasers before it shot away into the shadows. The squid sighting caught the attention of environmental scientist Kat Bolstad of Auckland University in New Zealand. When she later reviewed the video, she was able to identify the creature as Gonatus antarcticus, the elusive Antarctic gonate squid. 'This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide,' Bolstad told National Geographic. Gonatus antarcticus had been discovered by Einar Lönnberg—a Swedish zoologist who had gone on an expedition to Tierra del Fuego—at the extreme southern tip of South America in 1898. He first discovered a deceased specimen stranded in the Strait of Magellan, and collected already dead specimens that had been entangled in fishing nets. Closer study revealed that the squid showed significant differences from close cousin Gonatus fabricii, which was the only known Gonatus species at the time. It was only from these observations (and beaks of the animal lodged in the stomachs of predators) that Lönnberg and the scientists who followed him were able to find out anything about this mysterious squid. Lönnberg described the new species of squid he discovered as having a 'very slender mantle, very long tail, and soft body' with 'long, narrow fins, long stout tentacles and small tentacle clubs.' Its arms were 'short, thick and muscular' while its tentacles were 'long with relatively small club[s], large central hook[s] and medium-size distal hook[s].' At three feet long, the Antarctic gonate squid may not grow to the enormity of the giant squid or the equally-ellusive colossal squid (which was also first seen alive by SuBastian in January of 2025), but it is still a rare find. So little is known about the numbers and whereabouts of these cephalopods that it is difficult to gauge how many populate the Southern Sea. What G. antarcticus does have in common with its larger cousins, however, is its red coloration, which is actually a clever type of camouflage shared by many creatures in the twilight and midnight zones. Wavelengths of red light cannot penetrate waters so deep, so they appear black and just about invisible to predators. It seemed that the squid on SuBastian's footage had possibly gotten into a scuffle with something larger—possibly a colossal squid, based on the scratches along its mantle that suspiciously resembled hook marks. The squid might have never been discovered if it hadn't been for hazardous weather conditions that Christmas Eve. On an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society as a part of their Rolex Perpetual Planet Ocean Expeditions partnership, the team was planning to look into the unexplored Powell Basin—an abyssal plain that reaches nearly ten thousand feet deep. But an onslaught of ice made them rethink their plans, and they decide to drop SuBastian just outside the basin instead. 'What are the odds?" researcher Manuel Novillo from Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (who was also a member of Bolstad's team) told National Geographic. 'We were not supposed to be there and not at that precise moment.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Deep-Sea Wonderland Found Thriving Where Humans Have Never Been
A deep-sea expedition to one of Earth's most remote island chains has surfaced stunning pictures of the vibrant ecosystems surrounding hydrothermal vents that scientists didn't even know were there. The 35-day journey aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor (too) research vessel was part of the Ocean Census's race to document marine life before it is lost to threats like climate change and deep sea mining. This expedition took an international team of scientists to the South Sandwich Islands, in the South Atlantic near Antarctica, which boasts the Southern Ocean's deepest trench. Despite facing subsea earthquakes, hurricane-force winds, towering waves, and icebergs, the crew was rewarded with a trove of incredible new discoveries. You might have already watched the expedition's world-first footage of a live colossal squid, but some of their other finds deserve a moment in the spotlight. Like this vermillion coral garden thriving on Humpback Seamount, near the region's shallowest hydrothermal vents at around 700 meters deep (nearly 2,300 feet). The tallest vent chimney stood four meters (13 feet) tall, proudly sporting an array of life, including barnacles and sea snails. Like drones in a New Year's Eve sky, a fleet of shrimp whizzed round these submarine skyscrapers. These hydrothermal vents, on the northeast side of Quest Caldera, are the only South Sandwich Island vents explored via remotely operated vehicle (ROV) thus far; we can't wait to see what future expeditions uncover. "Discovering these hydrothermal vents was a magical moment, as they have never been seen here before," says hydrographer Jenny Gales from the University of Plymouth in the UK. But certain specimens deserve a close-up: like this exquisite nudibranch, unspecified, which blackwater photographer Jialing Cai snapped at 268 meters deep in the near-freezing waters east of Montagu Island. Nearby, a slightly more upsetting moment was captured: a grenadier fish with parasitic copepods – likely Lophoura szidati – tucked into its gills like horrid pigtails. And this stout little sea cucumber, recorded 650 metres below the sea surface at Saunders East, with a gob full of what we will informally dub a deep-sea puffball. Now, brace yourself for the first ever image of Akarotaxis aff. gouldae, a species of dragonfish that has evaded our cameras for two years since its discovery. Something else that nobody's seen before? Snailfish eggs on a black coral. Not even marine biologists knew this was a thing, until now. "This expedition has given us a glimpse into one of the most remote and biologically rich parts of our ocean," says marine biologist Michelle Taylor, the Ocean Census project's head of science. "This is exactly why the Ocean Census exists – to accelerate our understanding of ocean life before it's too late. The 35 days at sea were an exciting rollercoaster of scientific discovery, the implications of which will be felt for many years to come as discoveries filter into management action." Look behind-the-scenes aboard the Falkor (too) research vessel here. Cockatoos Figured Out How to Use Drinking Fountains, And It's Amazing Extreme Skittishness in Your Cat Could Be a Sign of a Mysterious Disease Rare Black Iceberg Goes Viral – So What Is Going on Here?
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch the mesmerizing first-ever footage of a rare Antarctic squid
Oceanographers on an excursion in the Southern Ocean captured a chance, unprecedented encounter with a sizable deep-sea squid. While piloting a remotely operated submersible 7,000 feet below the ocean surface from aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too), experts glimpsed a three-foot-long Gonatus antarcticus specimen. But according to National Geographic's announcement, the team wasn't even supposed to be in that location when they stumbled across the elusive cephalopod. 'The ice blocks were moving so fast, it would put all the ships in danger, so we had to rearrange everything,' said Manuel Novillo, a researcher at the Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Novillo and his crewmates working on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Expedition originally intended to remotely explore the Powell Basin, an uncharted 9,400-foot-deep abyssal plain near Antarctica, on Christmas Eve last year. Inclement conditions and dangerous ice floes forced a change in plans. To cut their losses, researchers instead traveled to an outer edge of the Basin the following day to see what they could find. The last-minute itinerary shift proved more surprising than anyone aboard Falkor (too) expected. Novillo noticed a shadowy figure near the vehicle's camera as they guided the submersible deeper into the sunless depths early the next morning, and asked the pilot to try getting a closer look. 'Voilà, it appeared,' he recounted. Novillo and colleagues were initially unsure about the exact species of squid. But whatever it was, it seemed as surprised to see the submersible as its operators were to find it—the squid released a small, green cloud of ink after noticing the robot visitor. Researchers analyzed the squid's dimensions using the submersible's laser measurement systems while recording a few minutes' worth of video footage. After their brief rendezvous, the squid departed and zoomed away into the murky depths. The oceanographers sent their data and images to Auckland University of Technology's Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics (aka the AUT Squid Squad) to properly identify their mystery animal. After reviewing its size and physical characteristics, the AUT Squid Squad concluded that the team had captured the first-known meeting with a live G. antarcticus. Before this, the only specimens had come in the form of carcasses caught in fishing nets, or beak fragments found in other marine animals' stomachs. According to Kat Bolstad, head of the Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics, the telltale markers of G. antarcticus were a single, large hook found at the end of each of its longest tentacles. 'It's not consistently visible, but it is definitely there,' Bolstad said of the hooks seen in the video. The large Antarctic squid likely uses those large tentacle hooks to help capture meals, but beyond that, not much is known about the deep-sea creature. Experts assume daily life is likely a combination of hunting prey and avoiding its own larger predators, possibly even colossal squid. The cephalopods generally possess extremely good eyesight so that they can easily spot and avoid unwanted attention (such as a submersible's headlights). The specimen caught on camera displayed what appeared to be fresh scratches and sucker-induced wounds, hinting at a brush with its own hungry foes. Despite this, Bolstand said the bright coloration and size indicates it remained 'in pretty good shape' since older squid tend to lose their vibrancy. The team wasn't able to determine its sex, but if it was a female, it was nearly twice the size of past documented adult G. antarcticus. This raises the question: Do males retain their coloration throughout their lifecycles? Another explanation may be that G. antarcticus is actually multiple species, although more information is needed before making that determination. In any case, the Christmas Day sighting marked an important moment in the study of deep-sea squid. It may be years before another specimen is seen on film, but for Novillo, the unlikely meetup is amazing enough on its own. 'What are the odds?' he said. 'We were not supposed to be there and not at that precise moment.' For more on this story, visit
AU Financial Review
03-06-2025
- Science
- AU Financial Review
When contemporary design and millennia-old ice sheets collide
Tasmanian designer Brodie Neill has been obsessing over icebergs. For the past three months in his London studio, he's experimented with ways to convey the beauty of their colours and textures as he develops new furniture and objects inspired by a six-week artist-in-residency on the edge of an ice shelf in Antarctica. 'When you first look, everything just seems stark blue and white,' he says of his expedition aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research ship, Falkor (too). 'But as your eyes adapt, you start to see glacial layers of intensely varied hues that are markers of millennia of climatic shifts.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Coral gardens and volcano vents: See what scientists found in the icy depths of the Southern Ocean
Scientists on board a deep-sea expedition to the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica have returned with a treasure trove of photos of previously unseen marine life. They found coral gardens, hydrothermal vents and many suspected new species while exploring around the island chain, including in the deepest trench in the Southern Ocean. The same international team, aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too), made headlines last month with their world-first footage of a colossal squid. And in January, they were in the right place at the right time to explore the seafloor when a Chicago-sized iceberg broke away from an ice shelf in Antarctica. But there were many more 'magic moments' on the 35-day deep-sea expedition to this extremely biodiverse part of the ocean. 'The 35 days at sea were an exciting rollercoaster of scientific discovery; the implications of which will be felt for many years to come as discoveries filter into management action,' says Dr Michelle Taylor, head of science and expedition principal investigator at the Ocean Census - the world's largest initiative to accelerate the discovery of ocean life. These remarkable photos take us along for the ride. Related What are milky seas? 400 years of sailors' stories are shedding light on ocean bioluminescence Located in the South Atlantic, the South Sandwich Islands are part of a rich mosaic of geologic features. These include hadal zone trenches (the deepest region of the ocean), underwater volcanoes, and spreading centres - features created by tectonic forces that have supported the evolution of species found nowhere else on the planet. It took eight days for the research vessel to travel to the islands from the port of Punta Arenas, Chile. On board were Ocean Census scientists, who led efforts to discover new species, and researchers from GoSouth, a collaboration between the UK's University of Plymouth, the British Antarctic Survey and Germany's GEOMAR, tasked with investigating the effects of geohazards, including tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Related Rare snail that can 'slurp up earthworms like noodles' caught on camera laying an egg from its neck The GoSouth team, led by co-chief scientist Dr Jenny Gales, discovered two pockmarks in the mapping data of an underwater caldera - a bowl-shaped depression in the seafloor, left after a volcano erupts. Since pockmarks can indicate hydrothermal activity, the team deployed the vessel's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian to map the pockmarks at a higher resolution. The robot confirmed the presence of hydrothermal vents - fissures from which geothermally heated water rises - finding three on the larger pockmark, and one on the smaller one. Located at a depth of 700 metres, they are some of the shallowest hydrothermal vents to have been discovered near the South Sandwich Islands. The tallest vent chimney was four metres - about as tall as a basketball hoop. 'Discovering these hydrothermal vents was a magical moment, as they have never been seen here before,' says Dr Gales, an associate professor in Ocean Exploration at the University of Plymouth. 'It's an incredible discovery that provides valuable insights into the area's tectonic activity. Making such a discovery is rare. It highlights the importance of ocean exploration and seafloor mapping.' Each vent was covered with an array of life dependent on chemosynthesis (producing food using inorganic substances without sunlight), including sea snails and barnacles. Thriving coral gardens and large sponges were also found in close proximity to the vents - an unusual observation, according to Dr Taylor. Related OceanXplorer: On board the billionaire's research vessel broadcasting from the deep sea Meanwhile, Ocean Census scientists uncovered a range of potentially new marine life - including corals, sponges, snails, sea urchins, sea stars and benthic (sea bottom) ctenophores, which have gelatinous bodies. A thriving coral garden located west of Saunders Island at a depth of 120 metres is pictured in one of the most breathtaking photos from the expedition. The exact number of new species will be announced later this year when experts have had time to formally assess and catalogue the findings. But they include a possible new sea cucumber species - marine invertebrates so-named for their soft cylindrical bodies. These creatures play a crucial role in benthic ecosystems by recycling nutrients, and are well-adapted to the cold Antarctic environment. During a dive in the South Sandwich Trench - one of the coldest and most isolated submarine trenches on the planet - the team also spotted snailfish eggs laid on a black coral, a previously unknown behaviour. They also captured the first footage of Akarotaxis aff. gouldae, a species of dragonfish that was discovered only two years ago. And found large pumice blocks, indicating that the South Sandwich Islands are capable of explosive volcanism. Mother Nature threw everything she had at the expedition, says Dr Taylor, including a subsea earthquake, tropical storm force winds with hurricane-level gusts, eight-metre waves, and icebergs to navigate. 'The challenging ocean and weather conditions and the isolated location of the South Sandwich Islands capture the imagination of the boldest explorers - often the closest humans to the vessel were on the International Space Station,' says Schmidt Ocean Institute's executive director, Dr Jyotika Virmani.
