The scientific expedition, led by National Geographic explorer-in-residence Dr. Robert Ballard, was unusual in that it contained a broadcast component. The scientists' voices narrating live video images being shot about 400 feet below the surface were beamed to the five portals across the country.

Every cabin, van, and workspace on the research vessel was wired for communication to the shore via dedicated satellite and microwave feeds. The entire Secrets of the Gulf expedition was broadcast live over the web through an emerging exploration technology Dr. Ballard calls "telepresence."

The HRI served as a modified command center for the expedition. One of the main reasons HRI was chosen was its ability to receive and transmit Internet 2. "Bob Ballard describes Internet 2 as a super information highway that makes the old Internet look like a dirt road," Etnoyer said, adding, "The HRI has the connections (physical, social and professional) and the reputation that it takes to get us involved in a project of this magnitude."

How It Worked
HRI was one of only five broadcast consoles in the nation to receive enhanced live video feeds from the expedition. The Information Technology Department at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where HRI is located, commandeered one of HRI's public auditoriums equipped with Internet 2 to share streaming large format video to more than 250 people, including local print and television news media.

"People were up at all hours of the night sending emails, tweaking knobs and taking notes," Etnoyer said. The feed came over Internet 2 into a “video-brick,” which allowed a full frame projection of the website feed. The local ABC television station (Kiii) recorded video off the screen and broadcast it on a segment of the local news.

"If it weren't for the I.T. Departments within the Texas A&M system, we could never be getting these live feeds from the submersibles," Etnoyer explained, adding, "The HRI was very forward thinking to design the building to accommodate this technology."

The live feed was made possible through the collective effort of University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M in College Station and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Expedition Team
Ballard and his team of scientists explored the “twilight zone” near 100 meters depth around the Flower Garden Banks using both the Navy sub and an ROV called the Argos II.

Throughout the five-day expedition, researchers Bob Ballard, GP Schmall, Emma Hickerson and others took turns swapping seats in the submersible, the ROV with video camera, and the research vessel on the surface.

The expedition took two days to circumnavigate the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, where the scientists found large gorgonian sea fans up to 1 meter tall.

Etnoyer, who is studying under HRI's Dr. Tom Shirley, endowed chair for biodiversity studies, is doing his doctoral dissertation research on deepwater benthic gorgonian sea fans around the Flower Gardens at about 100 meters depth. "The biological transects performed during this expedition will add data to my dissertation work," Etnoyer said.

The Flower Garden Banks are some of the most intensely explored and healthiest coral reefs in the Western Atlantic, but very little is known about deep water species in the sanctuary.

Through his research, Etnoyer has worked with Sanctuary staff to identify 20 deep octocoral species so far, and a few deep “hotspots” for gorgonians, but like most tropical reef systems around the world, everything deeper than 80 meters is still a mystery.

"Most people think about shallow-water corals providing habitat for fish and marine life but in deeper waters the gorgonians take that place, as they don’t need light," Etnoyer said.

The Secrets of the Gulf muliticast was an important exercise for the HRI, acting as a test bed for future expeditions. Having demonstrated the technology and its ability to use it, the HRI is ready to participate in future adventures in the deep and open ocean.

For more information about Secrets of the Gulf Expedition, visit oceanslive.org or contact Peter Etnoyer at (361) 825-2030.