In December 2010 a multi-institution research team explored the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico with the submersible Alvin, to study deep-sea life. The expedition, funded as a National Science Foundation Rapid Response program to assess the impact of the Gulf oil spill on deep-sea fauna, was featured as a Dive and Discover expedition. From left, WHOI postdoctoral investigator Walter Cho, Alvin expedition leader Bruce Strickrott, and WHOI biologist Tim Shank examine a tubeworm specimen recovered from the seafloor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)