All images and excerpts below are taken from The NOAA Ocean Explorer page on the NOAA website. Please click on the url: or any image below to see the full Daily log found on the NOAA Ocean Explorer website.
 
Savannah Scarp
September 5- September 9
 
September 6 Today the Seward Johnson II moved up the coastline from Ft. Pierce, Florida towards Savannah Scarp, approximately 70 miles off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Here scientists will begin researching fish and reef habitats, conduct habitat characterizations, and collect deep water soft corals for DNA analysis. During this leg of the mission, the R/V Palmetto from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources will support scientists aboard the Seward Johnson II, conducting various fish studies. Discover what scientists expect to discover at Savannah Scarp.
 
     
  September 7 There were two submersible dives today. Scientists are researching the fish and reef habitats of this area, and have had success so far with clear weather, and numerous observations of reef and fish habitats. Tonight we plan to conduct net tows to collect additional data on the fish species that utilize this unique habitat. Learn more about the features of Savannah Scarp.
     
September 8 With the first day of submersible diving at a close, scientists have already made many observations about the oceanographic characteristics and fish habitats at the Savannah Scarp. Read observations of Chief Scientist George Sedberry on fish abundance and diversity after a submersible dive at a section of the Savannah Scarp colorfully named Sandwich Reef.
 
     
  September 9 Savannah Scarp is comprised of a variety of rocky "substrates," or geological characteristics of the seafloor. Hard substrates, like rocks, provide stable environments for organisms that prefer to be immobile. Soft substrates, or sediment plains, host fewer fish populations. Learn about the geology of this unique area, view some of the samples collected for analysis, and read an interview with Venetia Butler, the expedition's teacher-at-sea.
     
September 10 Although Savannah Scarp and Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary are near each other along the Georgia coast, the areas are visibly different, even on the surface. Scientists were anxious to explore further differences in these environments using a submersible. Read about their discoveries, the observations of graduate student Jill Jennings and Paulette Powers, chief scientist aboard the mission support vessel R/V Palmetto, and watch a short video clip of one of the seas' most interesting creatures, the octopus.  
     

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