Pic o’ the Week: Gummy Squirrel in the Pacific Ocean

It's a slug, it's an alien ... it's a Gummy Squirrel! Yes -- it's a sea creature!This sea cucumber, aka gummy squirrel {Psychropotes longicauda}, was spotted by the NOAA Okeanos research vessel crew at 5,100 meters (3.2 miles) depth while exploring abyssal sediments in the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the central Pacific Ocean. This gummy …

Spotlight: Deep-Sea Coral Close-up From NOAA Ocean Exploration

NOAA's vessel Okeanos and its crew of scientists, researchers and mariners have been exploring seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean this month as part of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts expedition. Thanks to fantastic livestreaming technology, we can watch what they're seeing in real-time as their ROV plies the …