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Deep-ocean Workhorse

When WHOI geochemist Chris German assembled a sea-going science team in January that could put in long hours and not balk at work in cold, dark places, he called on one of the toughest oceanographic tools he knows—remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason.  The vehicle, lowered from the side of the research vessel Atlantis and directed by a crew of 10 working from the ship, spent hundreds of hours exploring the Mid Cayman Rise in the Caribbean, Earth’s deepest spreading center, in January 2012. Jason was the scientists’ eyes and hands on the seafloor, capturing thousands of photos and hours of high-definition video, mapping the seafloor terrain, and sampling fluids, sediments, rocks, and marine organisms.(Photo by Julia DeMarines)