Ocean engineer Brennan Phillips and a team of researchers traveled to the Solomon Islands in search of hydrothermal activity, and what they found was completely unexpected. Kavachi, a very active underwater submarine volcano located 60-feet below the ocean’s surface, is home to two species of shark – hammerheads and silky sharks – living in the hot, highly acidic waters within the crater.
The team had to use disposable robots, underwater cameras, and National Geographic’s deep-sea Drop Cam—divers to observe these sharks. However, the latter had to be careful of eruptions during the dive, as some have suffered acid burns.
- Water proof (50 feet /15 meter), dust proof, shock proof (7 feet / 2.1 meter), crush proof (100 kgf), freeze proof (14 degree Fahrenheit / -10 degree...
- High resolution F2.0 lens, maximum 8x zoom, true pic VIII, back illuminated CMOS image sensor
- Variable macro system comprised of 4 macro shooting modes, magnified shooting up to 1 centimeter from the end of the lens
The idea of there being large animals like sharks hanging out and living inside the caldera of the volcano conflicts with what we know about Kavachi, which is that it erupts,” said Brennan Phillips, a biological oceanography Ph.D. student at the University of Rhode Island.
