Posted on 08/20/2012 6:07:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Famed explorer Robert Ballard's expedition over the Eratosthenes Seamount is currently collecting images during sweeps of the area using the latest technology to explore the sea floor some 70 miles off the island.
After two days of exploring, the team's underwater robots, operating at 800 to 1,000 metres, yesterday reached the summit of the Eratosthenes, going over terrain from a previous sweep and then turned west to head to unexplored territory to the west.
On Friday night they came across what appeared to be fossilised rib bones commentators suggested might have come from a whale, perhaps even 40,000 years old...
In another area what are believed could be fossilised mammal vertebrae were also spotted, and later yesterday the ROV picked up what was thought to be a meteorite. "That's what we're calling it until someone tells us different," said one of the team...
Watchers were also treated to a close-up of a kite-fin shark, totally black with huge eyes...
The expedition's main aim is to examine the Eratosthenes Seamount, one of the largest features on the Eastern Mediterranean seafloor and about 120 km long and 80 km wide. Its peak lies at the depth of 690 metres and it rises 2000 metres above the surrounding seafloor...
Past explorations of the area have shown the existence of a liquid that might contain methane...
In addition to the Eratosthenes Seamount project, Ballard says that Cyprus will feature on a television special to be broadcast on National Geographic Channel later this year.
The entire expedition is being streamed live by satellite to the internet at www.nautiluslive.org...
(Excerpt) Read more at cyprus-mail.com ...
Thanks blam.
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