Ocean scientists and enthusiasts alike have been spending pandemic days this month tuned in to NOAA’s live dives as its research vessel Okeanos explores seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean …
… patiently tracking the ROV as it plies the watery depths …
When suddenly!! What to scientist Christopher Mah‘s wondering eyes should appear but … wait!! look!!!! is that……???!!!
Was it really SpongeBob SquarePants and his buddy Patrick Star???!!
Sponge (Hertwigia) and starfish (Chondraster), Retriever Seamount, Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Christopher Mah, NOAA
Do SpongeBob and Patrick Star really live a mile deep and two hundred miles east of New York City on the Atlantic Ocean’s Retriever Seamount??
Or were they just visiting?
🤨
Scientists may never know…. only SpongeBob, Patrick Star and some ocean-loving kids know for sure…
Oceanwire 