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Into a warm, salty bath

In October 2008, researchers from WHOI had an opportunity to investigate an unusual part of the Red Sea where “brines” of hot, salty, mineral-rich water form near the sea floor. Scientists aboard R/V Oceanus measured water conditions and searched for microbes or other life adapted to the extreme environment. The researchers used the TowCam, a towed digital camera sled bearing water samplers and sensors—here being lowered into the warm waters of the Red Sea. The cruise was part of an ongoing WHOI collaborative research program with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and researchers from several countries participated.
(Photo by Alexander Dorsk, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)