Back to the Deep

Scientists and crew recover Nereus, the hybrid remotely operated vehicle (HROV), in 2009 after it swam along a 110-kilometer (68-mile) ridge searching for signs of hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea. In June 2013, Nereus returned to the site, this time equipped with cameras developed by explorer and filmmaker James Cameron for his one-person submersible DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, to survey the deepest known vent sites. In 2014, Nereus will take its deep-diving capabilities to the Kermadec Trench, the second-deepest ocean trench, as part of the HADES program. Learn more about Nereus, DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, and ocean trenches at a free public event on Saturday, August 24. (Photo by Chris German, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)