The orange glow of magma is visible on the left of the sulfur-laden plume. The area shown in this image is approximately six feet across in an eruptive area approximately the length of a football field that runs along the summit. (Credit: Image courtesy of NSF, NOAA, and WHOI Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab)

ScienceDaily (Dec. 21, 2009) — Oceanographers using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason discovered and recorded the first video and still images of a deep-sea volcano actively erupting molten lava on the seafloor.

Jason, designed and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the National Deep Submergence Facility, utilized a prototype, high-definition still and video camera to capture the powerful event nearly 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in an area bounded by Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

"I felt immense satisfaction at being able to bring [the science team] the virtual presence that Jason provides," says Jason expedition leader Albert Collasius, who remotely piloted the ROV over the seafloor. "There were fifteen exuberant scientists in the control van who all felt like they hit a home run. "

Collasius led a team that operated the unmanned, tethered vehicle from a control van on the research vessel and used a joystick to "fly" Jason over the seafloor to within 10 feet of the erupting volcano. Its two robotic arms collected samples of rocks, hot spring waters, microbes, and macro biological specimens.

Through its fiber optic tether, ROV Jason transmitted-high definition video of the eruption as it was occurring. The unique camera system, developed and operated by the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at WHOI, was installed on Jason for the expedition to acquire high quality imagery of the seafloor. The AIVL designs, develops, and operates high resolution imaging systems for scientific monitoring, survey, and entertainment purposes. AIVL imagery has been used in several IMAX films and hundreds of television programs and documentaries.

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