Image of the Day

February 7, 2014

Something Fishy

This unlucky flying fish wound up on the deck of the research vessel Atlantis during a recent cruise to the East Pacific Rise. These fish can leap out of the water and use their translucent, wing-like fins to glide in the air from wave to wave—and sometimes, a ship gets in the way. Participants on this cruise were studying microbial life at hydrothermal vents but they enjoyed seeing larger wildlife, including dolphins and pilot whales (orcas) swimming alongside the ship and a variety of sea birds perching high on its mast. (Photo by David Levin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)