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Happy as a Giant Clam

Tim Shank, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), was thrilled to get samples of giant clams retrieved by the Alvin submersible during a 2002 expedition to the Galápagos Rift, where previously unknown deep-sea animals living around seafloor hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977. Ever since, scientists have returned to the rift to see how these communities have evolved and to search for more of them. Shank embarked on a new voyage to the region in July 2011. At noon today, WHOI invites the public to view video from a remotely operated vehicle exploring the seafloor, with Shank and others describing the scene.(Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)