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from: http://www.fptribune.com

On Saturday, scientists from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution will embark on a voyage to places man has not traveled before.

Operation Deep Scope, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean Exploration, will seek to discover never previously seen animals, behaviors and phenomena within the deep reaches of the Gulf of Mexico.

The fact that the scientists fully anticipate the discovery of new life forms is indicative of how little we know about our own planet, especially the marvels of the ocean.

Joining Harbor Branch on the journey, which begins at Panama City, will be researchers from Duke University; the University of Queensland, Australia; the Whitney Lab of the University of Florida; the University of Ulm, Germany; and Physical Science Inc. of Andover, Md.

"This is the first time we've ever been able to assemble a team like this with such a range of tools," Dr. Edith Widder, expedition co-leader and head of Harbor Branch's Biophotonics Center, said in a news release. "Some of these areas have never been explored before and for many of these scientists, this expedition is a dream come true."

The scientists plan to visit four alien landscapes. The first, Desoto Canyon, unexplored deepwater pinnacles about 120 miles south of Pensacola. They then will visit a deepwater coral reef known as Viosca Knoll. They will then visit a community of clams and worms that depend on methane-eating bacteria for nutrition. Finally, they will visit Brine Pool, 150 miles southeast of New Orleans where salt deposits on the sea floor have created a shallow lake 2,100 feet below the ocean's surface.

A primary goal of Operation Deep Scope is to study the uses of light in the darkness of the deep sea using specially-designed camera systems, light-tight traps, polarized filters and the Harbor Branch submersible.

"There's no telling what we'll be able to find using these new techniques," Widder said, "and that's the best part of exploration — discovering something totally new and unexpected. It just doesn't get any better than that."

We sense the excitement and wish the scientists good hunting and a safe and rewarding return.