The abyssal plain is one of the least explored regions on Earth. There is no sunlight, immense pressure dominates, and the silence seems almost cosmic. But even in these extreme conditions, life continues to create amazing forms.
Aboard the research vessel E/V Nautilus, expedition NA179 — Deep-Sea Habitats in the Mariana Islands I is underway, the first of two expeditions to study the deep-sea habitats of the Mariana Archipelago.
This is one of the most geologically active areas on the planet. It features underwater volcanoes, seafloor areas over 167 million years old, and the Mariana Trench — Earth's deepest oceanic trench.
At a depth of over 5800 meters, the remotely operated vehicle ROV Little Hercules encountered one of the most charming inhabitants of the abyss — the Dumbo octopus.
A representative of the genus Grimpoteuthis appeared before the camera like a small messenger from the deep. It rose to meet the vehicle, swam alongside for a few moments, gently flapping its ear-like fins, and then disappeared back into the darkness.
Its large eyes are adapted to life in a world of eternal night — a place with no dawns or sunsets.
But the Dumbo octopus was not the only marvel of this dive.
An almost transparent spherical jellyfish drifted past the camera — a weightless form, as if made of water itself. Following it, a shimmering comb jelly appeared in the vehicle's lights. The iridescent waves on its semi-transparent body are created by the refraction of light on rows of microscopic cilia, which the animal uses to propel itself through the water.
Comb jellies only resemble jellyfish superficially but belong to a completely different group of animals — the phylum Ctenophora. Their place on the tree of life remains one of the great mysteries of evolutionary biology. Research suggests they may represent one of the earliest diverging branches of the animal kingdom, although this is still debated by scientists.
The expedition Deep-Sea Habitats in the Mariana Islands I runs from June 28 to July 21, 2026. The vessel and its underwater vehicles are operating east of the Mariana Trench, in the vicinity of the island of Tinian, exploring deep-sea plains and slopes of seamounts that have rarely been seen by human eyes before. Ocean Exploration Trust
Each dive is a reminder: the Ocean has never been silent.
It speaks in the iridescent play of light in transparent bodies, the barely perceptible movements in the darkness, and the quiet beats of the fins of an octopus that momentarily emerged from the abyss.
And sometimes, as we point our cameras into the unknown, we suddenly feel:
it is not only we who look into the deep — the deep looks back.
