Day Six: Benham Rise Expedition - Oceana Philippines
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May 29, 2016

Day Six: Benham Rise Expedition

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Soft coral taken by ROV in depths of more than 50 meters on 25 May during Benham Bank 2016 expedition
@Oceana

Day 6: May 29, 2016

Today was a perfect day. We had flat calm, clear skies and the ocean surface looked like a lake. Currents for diving were not too strong, at a depth of 55 meters for 50 minutes bottom time with a total run time of three hours. AWESOME! There were endless coral plates with lots of fish and a few larger fish as well, i.e., barracuda

We visited more gardens of coralline algae and discovered an additional site of dense corals with high relief, and high diversity of corals and fish.

Dense corals in Benham Bank ©Oceana

Marianne helped in specimen preservation today, labeling, and sealing the specimen bottles. She also helped Marco with his interviews, holding the mic and reflector for him. He said she did very well!

Everyone is feeling positive about the expedition and it’s hard to believe there is only one day left.  We have been to twice as many stations as originally planned, and seen a wide range of habitats. Collectively, among the decades of experience studying the ocean that we have aboard the ship, no one has ever seen reefs like this.  Benham is indeed a special place and we feel truly privileged to be here.

Good evening from Margot and Mar