Scientists found a mysterious “golden orb” - potentially an “egg casing,” on the seafloor during a NOAA underwater mission off the Gulf of Alaska.
saying scientists were “trying to crack this golden egg mystery!” and calling on the public to send through their ideas.“At first glance it’s possibly the remains of an egg case of an invertebrate animal, or perhaps a slightly mangled sponge,” Jon Copley, professor of Ocean Exploration and Science Communication at the University of Southampton, told The Washington Post after looking at images Thursday.
“Without detailed examination and analysis of the specimens obtained we don’t know what this strange object is, said Daniel Jones, associate head of ocean biogeosciences at the United Kingdom’s National Oceanography Centre. “But it highlights the diversity of life in the world’s deep oceans that remains undiscovered and the importance of scientific exploration.”The team used a remote vehicle to “tickle” the egg, revealing it had a soft, skinlike texture.
However, while scientists “were able to successfully collect the orb from the seafloor and bring it onto the surface, even once on the ship, the team has not been able to identify what it is,” Emily Crum, communications lead at NOAA Ocean Exploration, said in an email. “It is likely that they won’t have any more information about it until they can examine it in a full laboratory setting.”
The dive is part of the “Seascape Alaska 5” expedition, which began Aug. 23 and will end in Sept. 16 in the Gulf of Alaska, using the NOAA Okeanos Explorer ship, according to NOAA, which is live-streaming the expedition. The mission uses the ROV’s and multibeam sonar mapping technology to explore depths ranging from 200 to 6,000 meters deep, it added. It aims “to explore deep-sea coral and sponge habitats, fish habitats … and to improve knowledge of past and potential geohazards.”
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