As more visitors arrived at the Marion Natural History Museum on Friday evening, October 16, additional chairs had to be found. The audience had gathered for a journey to the bottom of the ocean, led by someone who knows the trip remarkably well.
Dr. Stace Beaulieu, a senior research specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has descended aboard the deep-sea submersible Alvin approximately 16 times. She brought that experience, along with specimens collected from the ocean floor, to an enthusiastic audience eager to learn about hydrothermal vents and the surprising life found around them.
Beaulieu’s fascination with the deep ocean began in 1977, when she read a National Geographic article about extraordinary communities of animals thriving around hydrothermal vents. She recalled deciding that day that she wanted to become a deep-sea biologist.
“I mean, after that day, I never changed my mind,” she told the audience.
Hydrothermal vents occur where heated, mineral-rich water escapes through the ocean floor. Despite the absence of sunlight, these environments support thriving communities of tube worms, clams, crabs and other marine animals. Their ecosystems depend on chemical energy rather than sunlight.
But what happens when the vents stop flowing?
That’s the question driving Beaulieu’s current research. Working with colleagues, she is investigating inactive sulfide structures, where scientists are discovering communities of marine life that include small snails and other invertebrates, some representing species previously unknown to science.
Finding these structures requires sophisticated mapping equipment, sonar and careful navigation. Beaulieu described the challenge of locating narrow formations rising from the ocean floor, including one inactive structure standing approximately 18 meters tall.
She also gave the audience an entertaining look at the practical realities of traveling aboard Alvin, which carries two scientists and a pilot. Holding up a pillowcase, she demonstrated how she packs wool socks, a warm hat and hard candy for the journey. Natural fibers are required because of fire safety concerns, and the submersible has no bathroom, a detail that brought laughter from the audience.
To illustrate the tremendous pressure at those depths, Beaulieu passed around a Styrofoam cup that had been taken down with the submersible. The ocean pressure had compressed the cup to a fraction of its original size, shrinking the writing and decorations along with it.
Throughout the evening, visitors examined ocean-floor specimens, watched underwater footage and asked questions about ocean pressure, marine animals and the challenges of working miles beneath the surface. Beaulieu answered enthusiastically, frequently acknowledging the scientists, students, pilots and crew members whose work makes these expeditions possible.
The presentation offered a glimpse of both the remarkable life already discovered in the deep ocean and the mysteries researchers are still working to understand.
By Jeanne Hopkins