ROC HITS Cruise on R/V Atlantis
May-June 2017
ROVs Alvin and Sentry
The ROC HITS Costa Rica Margin cruise explored geochemically active sites off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, where high concentrations of methane bubbles emerge from the seafloor into oxygen-poor, pitch black waters. The project mapped the structure and chemistry of the ecosystems around the methane seeps by taking measurements of methane flux into the water column and changes in carbonate chemistry and oxygen levels. This information is critical for understanding the effects of warming and ocean acidification on marine ecosystems as well as understanding the size of the seep sphere of influence.
Images courtesy of ROC HITS.