All articles tagged with #noaa ocean exploration
Scientists solved the two-mile-deep “golden orb” mystery from NOAA’s Gulf of Alaska dive: the orb is not an egg, sponge, or alien object but the base remains of a giant deep-sea anemone, Relicanthus daphneae, identified through integrative taxonomy and whole-genome sequencing.
Scientists determined that the 4-inch 'golden orb' found about two miles deep off Alaska in 2023 is the dead-cell base of a sea anemone, identified after years of analysis by NOAA, Smithsonian, and partners during the Seascape Alaska mapping program; the orb, which initially puzzled researchers who found it stuck to rock on the seafloor west of Prince of Wales Island, is now in the Smithsonian collection and underscores the program’s role in expanding maps of unmapped Alaska waters and informing continental-shelf claims, with DNA sequencing and other techniques helping solve the mystery.
Scientists have solved the two-year mystery of the Gulf of Alaska’s “golden orb,” identifying it as a remnant of the base of the giant deep-sea anemone Relicanthus daphneae. Using morphological analysis and whole-genome sequencing (since initial DNA barcoding was inconclusive), researchers confirmed animal DNA matching Relicanthus daphneae and linked the orb to the rock-attached base of the creature. The specimen has been accessioned into the Smithsonian NMNH collection, illustrating how advanced genomic methods help unveil deep-sea mysteries.