Nereus Still Searching
03 November 2009 | 18 22.9'N:81 50.3'W, Cayman Trench
Stephen
Sunday evening we had another successful launch, transit of the bottom and recovery. Nereus spent the night exploring the seafloor and taking measurements but did not bring back any samples. After 10 hours cruising just above the seafloor, the fiber optic tether caught on some rocks and broke. Although the science team has located many signs of vents using the CTD they have not been able to locate any using Nereus - but everyone is optimistic. At 0900 hours (Monday) Nereus was back on deck. Shortly thereafter, we commenced the search using the CTD and finished around 2100 hours. At 2230 hours, Nereus was back in the water searching again. All but one of The National Geographic Team went back to the Georgetown with Katie staying on the ship to continue filming. Pictured is the TV in the mess deck showing the live camera from Nereus.