Vicious fights! Stunning beauties! Surprises around every corner! Yes, it’s reality TV but with a lot more depth — as much as 10,000 feet. It’s live coverage of deep-sea exploration off Nantucket and tens of thousands of people are tuning in.
They’re watching an eel suddenly attack a squid, oohing-and-aahing over hot pink starfish and listening as excited researchers discover a canyon so downright alien that sea life lives on methane escaping from the sea floor instead of sunlight.
They’re watching science as it happens, however weird and wild.
“We’ve been calling it Deep Sea TV,” said National Marine Fisheries Services scientist Martha Nizinski, in a ship-to-shore interview. “It’s much better than any other reality show being broadcast.”
As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ship Okeanos Explorer and its robotic submarine explore thousands of feet deep, the view is broadcast live for other scientists and everyday people to follow along to the tune of 50,000 visits.
The ship is on the East Coast so viewing times for West Coasters are from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,
The expedition continues until Aug. 16.
In past years, the ship explored the Pacific Ocean, but the next several missions will be off the East Coast with officials considering a deep Puerto Rico trench dive.
Aboard the ship, researchers do more than watch; they explain the science and the action for viewers.
“It’s a bit like color commentary from sports,” said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Amanda Demopoulos who calls the action.
Watch it
NOAA live stream: http://1.usa.gov/19ekgp0
Okeanos Explorer: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/welcome.html.
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