Captivating Crown Jellyfish in Iron Bottom Sound
While exploring the deep sea of the Iron Bottom Sound, our Corps of Exploration came “face-to-face” with this deep sea crown jellyfish (Paraphyllina coronate). ROV Hercules gives us some stunning footage of this deep-sea scyphomedusan drifting in the midwater at around 650 meters deep. Scientist Dr. Dhugal Lindsay tells us that this individual looks to have been "chomped on" when it was younger, due to its seemingly uneven regenerated tentacles and asymmetry in its normally radial body plan. Thanks to the scaling lasers, we can estimate this individual to be around 25 cm wide, a large specimen according to Dr. Lindsay!
The Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound (NA173) expedition is supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute. This exploration is made possible by the expertise, support, and collaboration of many partners, including NOAA Ocean Exploration, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, Solomon Islands government, University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, University of Rhode Island, and Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand archaeological colleagues.
Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound
Located in the Solomon Islands between the islands of Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela, Iron Bottom Sound was the stage of five major naval battles between August and December 1942 which resulted in the loss of over 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels, and 1,450 planes. These underwater cultural heritage sites now rest on the seafloor offshore Honiara in a confined area less than 25 nautical miles wide, 40 nautical miles long, and 1,400 meters deep.
