Upping the pressure…

17 May 2019

The sun has set on another day jam-packed day of science on the James Cook.

We returned to the site bright and early this morning, and set off our trusted AUV Freya to survey the site. She collected new seismic data that will hopefully reveal how the gas is pooling in the seafloor sediment. She also took a series of pictures of the seabed that are being used to create a detailed photomosaic of what life is like under 120m of water. You can see an example of the kind of creatures we’re seeing below, try and have a go at naming them all!

Meanwhile everyone else on board has been working hard to stay on top of all the exciting new data that’s been coming. Not an easy task given how much is actually going on at any given time. Fortunately, our chef Charlotte was able to keep everyone motivated with some freshly baked cake, which you can see was particularly enjoyed (and mainly consumed by) the AUV team after their busy morning.

Finally, we wrapped up the day with an ROV dive. This time to up the pressure heading into the pipe to see how this will affect the gas escaping out the other end. Now we are at an amazing 30L/min!