A glorious disk-shaped red jellyfish was spotted floating nearly 2,300 feet below the surface. Captured on camera, as a part of a 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition, the bobbing aquatic creature is like a cross between a giant blood cell and an umbrella. An “undescribed” or “unknown” species is the term being used to classify the animal, previously unspecified to scientists. Recently, the explorers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put out a report detailing a dive into an underwater canyon. NOAA scientists assert that the jellyfish, which is like an undulating flower petal of the deep, is a member of the genus Poralia.
The dive report was released by NOAA in late July wherein a look at the water column of the underwater canyon has been summed up. The water column is a theory in oceanography used to describe the attributes of seawater at distinct depths of a well-defined geographical point.
Deep Discoverer, the remotely operated vehicle(ROV), eyed more than 650 different creatures during the dive, collecting the potentially new species of jellyfish. Deep Discoverer is equipped to dive up to 3.7 miles (6,000 meters) deep and can capture high-definition footage. NOAA explorers say that there is a possibility of this being a new species of jellyfish altogether.
Quinn Girasek, NOAA Hollings Scholar with NOAA Ocean Exploration, monitors annotating organisms in the water column seen at a depth of 700 meters (2,297 feet), during the third transect of Dive 20 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition.
Shedding light on the focus of her project, she said, “As a Hollings intern, I am conducting research to further our understanding of previously unexplored ocean habitats."One of the species cataloged by Girasek as part of her research is the red jellyfish.
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