Deep below the surface of the ocean is a realm without light. A realm where the density of animals is usually very low, because not much food makes it down to this depth. However at some places in the ocean there are energy-rich fluids venting or seeping out of the ocean bottom. One of these environments is hydrothermal vents where the venting water is both hot and full of energy rich chemicals. These are the environments where giant tubeworms, mussels and clams living off the chemicals in the water were first discovered. In the Gulf of Mexico we don't find hydrothermal vents, but there many cold-seeps, places where energy rich fluids are seeping out of the ocean floor due to the geology of the underlying sediments and rock layers. Here we also find fields of tubeworms, beds of mussels and clams, and even pools of brine surrounded by millions of mussels and their friends. Use the buttons on the left to find out how the tubeworms and mussels can live and grow in this realm without light, more about the ecology of the cold-seep habitats, and how to find out more about the submarines we use and the research we do.

Special thanks to the National Geographic Society, Jonathan Blair, Dr. Ian MacDonald , Dr. Alissa Arp and many other scientists we have worked with for allowing us to use their photographs, mosaics, and graphics on this website.

Click to the left to begin your tour through the cold dark depths of the Gulf of Mexico harbor.