Deep-sea footage reveals ‘mysterious' untouched world off New Zealand. See it
A remotely operated vehicle ventured to the depths of the ocean off the coast of southern New Zealand and captured 'mesmerizing' footage of the never-before-seen ecosystems thriving in the darkness.
Diving over half a mile down, the ROV recorded an 'incredible variety of life,' specifically coral communities, along the ocean floor, according to a May 27 news release from New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
The footage, which officials called a 'rare glimpse into a mysterious and rarely explored world,' showed coral species previously not known to exist the region and several possible new species.
The footage was captured during a joint German-New Zealand expedition aboard the RV Sonne, a German research vessel, according to the release.
'This was an amazing opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to observe areas of the seafloor that are rarely accessible, including seamounts, the depths of Fiordland, offshore areas of Rakiura and the Chatham Rise,' said Lyndsey Holland, a senior science advisor with New Zealand's Department of Conservation who was part of the expedition.
'We still don't fully understand what's down there,' Holland said.
Officials said these fragile coral formations 'have remained untouched for hundreds of years.' Corals are legally protected in New Zealand, according to the release.
Experts will continue to analyze the footage and data collected during the expedition, officials said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Swiss glacier collapse highlights urgent need for monitoring and warning systems, WMO says
Glacier-related risks are becoming a global concern, according to Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Speaking at the Glacier Preservation Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Saulo emphasised that all countries, regardless of development level, face threats linked to glacial change. A recent disaster in the Swiss village of Blatten illustrated the dangers. A glacier-triggered mudslide devastated the area, destroying nearly all livelihoods. One person remains missing, but early warning systems were credited with reducing the overall impact. In response to accelerating climate change, the WMO is urging increased investment in glacier monitoring and forecasting. Related German court dismisses lawsuit against RWE but makes 'landmark' ruling for future climate cases 'We don't need a disaster to justify resilience': Climate projects can bring big economic benefits Saulo highlighted the need for greater awareness and support for hydrometeorological centres worldwide. 'With better monitoring, we can expect to have better forecasts, with those we can expect to have better early warning systems in the end to protect societies, protect people and to protect livelihoods,' she said. Just last week, Blatten was buried under a massive avalanche of rock and ice from the Birch Glacier and the nearby Lonza River bed. Experts had issued warnings about the potential collapse of the glacier, which contained 1.5 million cubic metres of ice. Local authorities acted quickly, evacuating around 300 people and livestock. A few days after the event, the Lonza River resumed its flow through the debris. The Blatten collapse is not an isolated event. In 2022, a chunk of the Marmolada glacier in Italy's Dolomite Mountains - roughly the size of an apartment building - broke off during a summer heat wave. The resulting avalanche swept through a popular hiking area, killing 11 people. In 2016, a glacier in Tibet's Aru mountain range suddenly collapsed, killing nine people and their livestock. A few months later, another glacier in the region gave way. Related Can glaciers regrow if global warming is reversed? Not in our lifetimes, scientists warn Glaciers in Sweden and Norway are melting faster, experts warn Glacier collapses have also occurred in Peru. In 2006, one triggered a mini tsunami, and in April of this year, an overflowing glacial lagoon caused a landslide that killed two people. 'It's amazing sometimes how rapidly they can collapse,' Lonnie Thompson, a glacier expert at the Ohio State University, told the AP. 'The instability of these glaciers is a real and growing problem, and there are thousands and thousands of people that are at risk.' While melting glaciers are expected to contribute to sea level rise for decades, scientists warn that the loss of inland glaciers poses immediate risks to nearby communities that depend on them for drinking water and agriculture.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Swiss glacier collapse highlights urgent need for monitoring and warning systems, WMO says
Glacier-related risks are becoming a global concern, according to Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Speaking at the Glacier Preservation Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Saulo emphasised that all countries, regardless of development level, face threats linked to glacial change. A recent disaster in the Swiss village of Blatten illustrated the dangers. A glacier-triggered mudslide devastated the area, destroying nearly all livelihoods. One person remains missing, but early warning systems were credited with reducing the overall impact. In response to accelerating climate change, the WMO is urging increased investment in glacier monitoring and forecasting. Related German court dismisses lawsuit against RWE but makes 'landmark' ruling for future climate cases 'We don't need a disaster to justify resilience': Climate projects can bring big economic benefits Saulo highlighted the need for greater awareness and support for hydrometeorological centres worldwide. 'With better monitoring, we can expect to have better forecasts, with those we can expect to have better early warning systems in the end to protect societies, protect people and to protect livelihoods,' she said. Just last week, Blatten was buried under a massive avalanche of rock and ice from the Birch Glacier and the nearby Lonza River bed. Experts had issued warnings about the potential collapse of the glacier, which contained 1.5 million cubic metres of ice. Local authorities acted quickly, evacuating around 300 people and livestock. A few days after the event, the Lonza River resumed its flow through the debris. The Blatten collapse is not an isolated event. In 2022, a chunk of the Marmolada glacier in Italy's Dolomite Mountains - roughly the size of an apartment building - broke off during a summer heat wave. The resulting avalanche swept through a popular hiking area, killing 11 people. In 2016, a glacier in Tibet's Aru mountain range suddenly collapsed, killing nine people and their livestock. A few months later, another glacier in the region gave way. Related Can glaciers regrow if global warming is reversed? Not in our lifetimes, scientists warn Glaciers in Sweden and Norway are melting faster, experts warn Glacier collapses have also occurred in Peru. In 2006, one triggered a mini tsunami, and in April of this year, an overflowing glacial lagoon caused a landslide that killed two people. 'It's amazing sometimes how rapidly they can collapse,' Lonnie Thompson, a glacier expert at the Ohio State University, told the AP. 'The instability of these glaciers is a real and growing problem, and there are thousands and thousands of people that are at risk.' While melting glaciers are expected to contribute to sea level rise for decades, scientists warn that the loss of inland glaciers poses immediate risks to nearby communities that depend on them for drinking water and agriculture.
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
In Photos: June's ‘Great Aurora' Stuns Skywatchers Around The World
The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, here looking straight up in a 360° panorama, with the ... More horizon all around and the zenith at centre. This records the entire sky during the peak of the substorm at about 1:30 am with the curtains lighting up with a range of colours blending together. A rare and powerful geomagnetic storm dazzled skywatchers across the globe last weekend, with the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) and Southern Lights (aurora australis) visible far from polar regions, with images of multi-colored curtains, coronas and rays across social media. People look at Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over ... More Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP) (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images) The spectacular event was triggered by a massive coronal mass ejection — a cloud of charged particles hurled into space from the sun — lit up skies in Canada, the U.S., Europe, New Zealand and beyond for over 60 hours between Saturday, May 31 to Tuesday, June 3, 2025. A man takes visuals of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the ... More horizon over Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP) (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images) The spectacular event was triggered by a massive coronal mass ejection — a cloud of charged particles hurled into space from the sun — lit up skies in Canada, the U.S., Europe, New Zealand and beyond for over 60 hours between Saturday, May 31 to Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, in a ~240° panorama from northeast at left, to ... More northwest at right, taken as a substorm was hitting, and the sky was lighting up with bright and colourful curtains. Here the curtains had moved mostly to the south, at centre here, after an initial appearance at the start of the night as a diffuse band across the north. However, moments after this as the substorm peaked, the sky filled with aurora, captured in an all-sky circular panorama. As Earth approaches the solstice on June 21, typical locations in the Northern Hemisphere where the aurora oval hangs over — such as polar latitudes near 70 degrees North — currently have no hours of darkness. That makes the U.S. currently one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, here with a burst of red appearing for a brief time amid ... More the curtains to the east as a substorm hit boosting the brightness and colours. On this night the Kp index peaked at Kp8, unusually high. However, to the eye the aurora still remained dimmer and colourless, except for moments like this when some reds did show up to the eye. Technical: A single 5-second exposure with the Viltrox 16mm lens at f/1.8 on the Nikon Z6III at ISO 400. A long-lasting G4 geomagnetic storm, it was one of the most vivid displays of aurora in Solar Cycle 25, which is currently in its solar maximum period. The sun has an 11-14-year cycle during which its magnetic activity waxes and wanes. It wasn't, however, as powerful as the G5 geomagnetic storm last weekend that saw aurora seen from as far south as California. A man takes visuals of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the ... More horizon over Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP) (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images) The long display was initially triggered by a powerful M8.2-class solar flare on May 31, which launched a fast-moving 'halo CME' — an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection. It began interacting with Earth's magnetosphere early on June 1, triggering a G4 (Severe) geomagnetic storm, with the Kp index peaking at 8 — high enough to expand the auroral oval well into mid- and low-latitude regions. The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, here with particularly colourful curtains to the east as a ... More substorm hit boosting the brightness and colours. On this night the Kp index peaked at Kp8, unusually high. However, to the eye the aurora still remained dimmer and colourless, except for moments like this when some reds did show up to the eye. This is a wide-angle lens framing from the horizon to near the zenith at top. Technical: A single 5-second exposure with the Viltrox 16mm lens at f/1.8 on the Nikon Z6III at ISO 800. In the U.S., aurora was seen as far south as southern Nebraska, Missouri, and even parts of New Mexico. States including Oregon, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts also witnessed views of the aurora. According to auroras were captured on the Gulf Coast at latitude 30 degrees North — a very rare event that reflects the storm's exceptional intensity. This photo taken on June 1, 2025 shows the aurora seen at the outskirts of Canberra, Australia. ... More (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua via Getty Images) Outside North America, both aurora borealis and aurora australis were seen in abundance. Canada experienced sky-filling displays, while colorful Southern Lights were seen from southern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The geomagnetic storm began to wane on June 2, but minor (G1) to strong (G3) storms persisted into June 3, keeping high-latitude skywatchers on alert. The Aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, is seen at Cleveland Dam Park on June ... More 03, 2025 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by) The Northern Lights are a result of the solar wind, which consists of charged particles emitted by the sun that interact with Earth's magnetic field. While much of this solar wind is deflected by the magnetic field, some charged particles travel along the magnetic field lines toward the polar regions where they enter. These particles collide with and excite oxygen and nitrogen atoms, causing them to release energy as light. This photo taken on June 1, 2025 shows a view of aurora and a dashing meteor in Jixian County of ... More Shuangyashan City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo by Han Yang/Xinhua via Getty Images) Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
