November 26th, 2024 | 7.1274° N, 134.2844° E | German Channel, Palau

Footage of a sandy seafloor fills the large monitors in the control van aboard E/V Nautilus. Three hours ago, we deployed ROVs Hercules and Atalanta for the final science dive of the year. Working with our team onboard from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and our colleagues onshore at the Coral Reef Research Foundation in Koror, Palau, we are currently surveying the geomorphology of German Channel. We are also collecting data on the diversity and density of deep-sea biology here.

So far, we’ve conducted two Norbit mapping surveys, and we’ve seen lots of sea cucumbers and a few six-gill sharks. But for the past 20 minutes, we’ve been staring at undulations in the sand and chatting about currents and tides.

Pilot Robert Waters is sitting in the Hercules seat. He casually remarks, “What’s that white thing floating up ahead?”