A 3D temperature (thermistor) array housing 24 sensors rests above a small diffuse flow site a few meters away from the actively venting black smoker edifice called Mushroom in the ASHES hydrothermal field on Axial Seamount. This cabled instrument was designed and built by G. Proskurowski, UW School of Oceanography. Limpets have colonized the frame and cable housing the thermistors. An osmotic fluid sampler is inserted into the diffuse flow site to obtain chemistry coregistered with temperature. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; V16. 

A digital still camera (left), mass spectrometer (middle) and a fluid and microbial DNA sampler at the El Gordo vent in the International District Hydrothermal Field measure and sample fluids, animals, and microbes in this active processes within this hydrothermal system to understand linkages amoung seismicity (seismometers extend away from the field), venting and life in this extreme environment. Credit: UW/OOI-NSF/WHOI; Dive J2-212, V16.

Krill surroung the small "cage" housing the cable connection from the Shallow Profiler at Axial Base to the extension cable connecting the Profiler to the power and communications. Credit: UW/OOI-NSF/WHOI, Dive J910, V16.

The float atop the Deep Profiler Mooring at the base of Axial Seamount has become a habitat for schools of fish. Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1860, V15.

A skate swims gently past ROPOS at the base of Axial Seamount, greater than 9000 ft beneath the ocean's surface. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS DIve R1841, V15.

A huge rattail, ~ 5 feet in length, swims slowly in front of the ROV ROPOS near the International District Hydrothermal Field at a depth of 5000 ft beneath the ocean's surface. This area has a higher abundance of these fish than observed elsewhere in the caldera, perhaps because of the larger size of the vent field and hence food source. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1729; V15.

Pyconogonids are abundant on many sulfide structures in the vent fields within the caldera of Axial Seamount. These 8-legged anthropods are commonly found in areas where venting has stopped, leaving variably oxidized edificies. Here, they are associated with snails an a small scale worm ~ 1 cm; in length. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1836; V15.

The Poralia rufescens jellyfish.

A cranchiid squid (likely Taonius borealis) swimming over a field of Neptunea snails and their egg cases at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF

A large red jellyfish swims gently by the ROV ROPOS at Axial Seamount.

An octopus (likely Muusoctopus sp.) smiles for the ROPOS camera at Primary Node 3A at the base of Axial Seamount. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, V14.

An octopus hanging out next to primary node PN3A at Axial Base, 2600 meters deep. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, ROPOS Dive R1742, V14.

An octopus hanging out near primary node PN3A at Axial Base, 2600 meters deep. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF,ROPOS Dive 1742, V14.

A bizarre sponge, Chondrocladia lampadiglobus, seen at Axial Base (2600m deep). First seen in 1960 in grainy black and white pictures, it was originally thought to be a Russian listening device by the US Navy, before it was eventually identified as an organism. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1739, V14

A spider crab encountered at the Axial Base site (2600m deep) during a cable survey. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1739, V14

A sea pen, a colonial marine cnidarian belonging to the order Pennatulacea, seen at the Axial Base site (2600m depth) during a cable survey. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1739, V14

A dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis) at the Axial Base site at 2600 m water depth. Identified by cephalopod experts Stephanie Bush (MBARI) and Mike Vecchione (Smithsonian) Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, Dive R1739, V14.

A close-up picture of the skinny fish seen at 565m depth at the Axial Base site. It has been tentatively identified as Bathylychnops exilis or a Paralepidid by Brian Sidlauskas and Ben Frable (OSU) Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1738, V14

A small cranchiid squid at the Axial Base site at 1318 m water depth. Tentatively identified as Taonius by cephalopod expert Stephanie Bush (MBARI). Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, ROPOS Dive R1738, V14.

A closeup view of a dinner plate jelly seen at Axial Base during dive 1737. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1737, V14

A close-up portrait of a black rattail fish at the Axial Base site, at 2603 meters depth. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive 1736; V14.  

A close up of animals, including palm worms and tubeworms, on the hydrothermal chimney called Mushroom in the ASHES hydrothermal field. The image is a frame grab from video streamed during testing of the OOI-RCA high-definition video camera built by the Applied Physics Lab at the University of Washington. The camera has been at this site for 1 year. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/ V14.

During ROPOS Dive R1730, the UW-RCA high-definition video camera was tested successfully. The camera was installed in 2013 and 1-year later it worked extremely well. A test 3-D thermistor array (bottom right) that was installed last year rests on a diffuse flow site, covered in microbial filaments. To the left, a cabled 3-D thermistor array will replace the uncabled system. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; Dive ROPOS R1730; V14.

This unknown species is relatively common at Axial, living among the basalt lava rocks. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1731; V14

This giant rattail is more than 1 m in length explores the ROPOS tool basket in 2014. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1729; V14.

Unknown Sea Cucumber 2. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1716; V14

A Big Red Jelly floats by the ROPOS camera. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; V13