Oceanography | March 2015
The northern part of the Kolumbo volca-
no’s crater floor, northeast of Santorini in
the Aegean Sea, has an extensive hydro-
thermal vent field where massive sulfide
chimneys are venting high-temperature
fluids (>200°C) and gases. (a) ROV sam-
pling massive sulfide chimney. (b) Broken
vent chimney revealing zonation of hydro-
thermal minerals. (c) Sampling gases
being emitted at a hydrothermal vent
using a gas-tight container.
Above. Chersonesos A is a Byzantine shipwreck dated to the
ninth to eleventh centuries CE that lies at 135 m depth in the
suboxic zone of the Black Sea. This site was the focus of initial
excavation, high-resolution mapping, environmental monitor-
ing, and testing for an underwater museum. The inset shows
a jar recovered from the site for analysis and conservation.
Below. Wreck of M/S Dodekanisos, dis-
covered off the Datça Peninsula, Turkey,
with ROV Hercules hovering over the
bow. Left. Multibeam microbathymetry
map of the ship from a high-resolution
survey conducted at 15 m altitude with
Hercules. Sediment mounds resulting
from impact with the bottom are visible
on the wreck’s port side.
Oceanography | March 2015
Left. The southeast flank of Eratosthenes Seamount,
eastern Mediterranean Sea, hosted numerous chemo-
synthetic vent communities consisting of tubeworms,
clams, urchins, and crabs located around cracks with
chemical staining.