Researcher explores 'Lost City'

Kayla Webley
2004-01-22
The Daily

Debbie Kelley knows what life is like near a volcano 3,400 feet below the ocean waves.

She delivered the lecture,"Travels in the Deep Sea" to Kane Hall crowd last night as the first of three in the lecture series titled "Ocean to Stars" presented by the UW's College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences.

Kelley is a UW associate professor who had the honor of being one of the first to witness the amazing discovery of the Lost City.

The Lost City is a community of hydrothermal vents, or underwater volcanoes, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, east of Barbados.

According to Kelley, the Lost City is a fundamentally different and exciting community unlike any submarine ecosystem previously discovered.

As chief scientist for the project in spring of 2003, Kelley completed a series of 19 dives in 32 days. Kelly said it was a long-awaited venture, as it was only Kelley's second view of the ecosystem since its discovery in 2000.

Participating in the expedition were 19 UW scientists and students. Ten students actually made it to the sea floor. The team left Barbados on a five-day trek to the sight of the Lost City, braving high winds and waves in search of its treasure: a giant underwater volcano.

"The real gift is getting to train students in what we do," said Kelley.

A typical day for the crew included diving in the submarine Atlantis from 8 a.m. until around 4 p.m. to depths of up to 3,400 feet. When they reached the surface, the robot "ABE" was sent down to collect, via sonar, maps for the next day's dives.

"Lost City hosts the tallest chimneys found to date," said Kelley. "The tallest of these structures is 180 feet."

These structures could also be of vital importance because studying them could lead scientists to clues for the origin of life on Earth or provide new guides in the search for extraterrestrial life, according to Kelley.

Sharing in the discoveries of this cruise was kindergarten through 12th grade students across the United States. The students communicated via email with the scientists on board before, during and after the cruise. Also, following the cruise, many of the scientists made an effort to visit the classrooms to further educate students on their journey.

The goal of this series is to educate the public about the advancements in the field of oceanography, which, according to Kelley, is only limited by technology.

"The Lost City was a serendipitous discovery; we didn't think to look there," said Kelley. "It is highly unlikely that the Lost City is unique."

According to Kelley, the oceans are our last frontier, and unimaginable discoveries will be made there.