Unexpected Marine Geology! Big Vase-like sponges and Black Corals! What an unexpected dive!
Geologically, the initial view was of a limestone-like bedrock with possibly Manganese nodules scattered on the sea floor. The mounds on the SE ridge of Orphan Knoll appear to be a series of volcanic mounds.
Some unrecognizable species of sponge and some unconfirmed Black Corals (Antipatharian) were some of the major biological highlights of these SE mounds (shown above).
The dive finished with a high-resolution IMAGINEX multibeam transect over top of the second mound.
The next dive, Dive 3, is a DFO mooring recovering dive with the chance to see what is living at the top of the south Orphan Knoll canyon feature.
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