#noaa

#noaa

NOAA Sailed a Robotic Surfboard Drone Into the Strongest Storm on EarthHurricane Sam is currently the strongest storm on the planet, carrying strong sustained winds of 145 mph. It is indeed a terrifying force of nature, and airplanes and ships should avoid it. But this vessel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) not only did not move away from the hurricane, but it also sailed inside it to record some footage. But don't worry. This is an uncrewed Saildrone vessel, so no lives were lost during its stay inside the hurricane.The data gathered from the vessel will help forecasters learn more about storms and improve forecast models.Now that's intense.Axios still has more to say about this research. Read more over at the site.(Image Credit: saildrone via YouTube)#Storm #Hurricane #WeatherForecasting #NOAA #drone #Saildrone

Deepwater Expedition Captures This Graceful Sea Cucumber Swimming 1.9 Miles Deep Under the OceanIn 2016, during a deepwater exploration of the seabed around the Mariana Trench using a remotely operated vehicle, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captured this amazing footage.It's a sea cucumber (Enypniastes), which moves about the ocean through the mesmerizing undulation of their body and anterior sail-like veil. Sea cucumbers  are relatively small - they're about 5 to 9 inches in length, have bulbous bodies and some species are even bioluminescent.NOAA Ocean Exploration tweeted the video clip, saying that the footage was taken while exploring a volcanic caldera at 1.9 miles deep (3,000 meters) under the ocean in the Southern Marianas.#seacucumber #marineanimal #NOAA #deepwaterexploration #MarianaTrench #Marianas

Marine Scientist Found Real Life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star in the Atlantic OceanMarine scientist Christopher Mah of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared this humorous picture of what a real-life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star would look like.Mah posted the picture of a Hertwigia (sponge) and Chondraster (sea star) on Twitter. The duo were found on the side of the Retriever seamount in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles (320 km) east of New York City, by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on the NOAA's Okeanos Explorer ship."I normally avoid these refs ... but WOW. REAL LIFE SpongeBob and Patrick!" Mah wrote on his tweet.  Talking to Insider, Mah added "I thought it would be funny to make the comparison, which for once was actually kind of comparable to the iconic images/colors of the cartoon characters. As a biologist who specializes in sea stars, most depictions of Patrick and SpongeBob are incorrect."Indeed, SpongeBob probably shouldn't be sitting so calmly next to Patrick as sea stars are actually carnivores that eat sponges.No words on whether they've found the other residents of Bikini Bottom on this trip.#SpongeBob #SpongeBobSquarePants #PatrickStar #seasponge #seastar #marinebiology #NOAA #AtlanticOcean #NewYorkCity #ROV #OkeanosExplorerRelated:3D Printed SpongeBob SquarePants Sponge Holder