This spring, over 2,000 feet down in the Indian Ocean, a robot exploring a canyon happened upon a fantastical, loosely coiled creature. The siphonophore, found suspended in the water, might be the longest animal ever discovered. It’s well over 150 feet in length.
The discovery, made by scientists aboard the R/V Falkor, a vessel operated by the marine research organization the Schmidt Ocean Institute, was one of many unique sightings in, or newly published research about, the deep sea this year. The worst pandemic in a century may have canceled many marine expeditions, but discoveries in the ocean deep — abetted by robotic explorers — continued apace in 2020. Read more…
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