"It appears that the entire coast off Washington, Oregon and California is a giant methane seep," says RMS Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard, who found the new-to-science vents on summer expeditions by his ship, Nautilus.

The discoveries double to about 1,000 the number of such vents now known to exist along the continental margins of the USA. This fizzing methane is a powerful greenhouse gas if it escapes into the atmosphere; a clean burning fuel if safely captured.

"This is an area ripe for discovery," says Dr. Nicole Raineault, Director of Science Operations with Dr. Ballard's Ocean Exploration Trust. "We do not know how many seeps exist, even in US waters, how long they have been active, how persistent they are, what activated them or how much methane, if any, makes it into the atmosphere."

Further research and measuring will help fill important knowledge gaps, including how hydrocarbons behave at depth underwater and within the geological structure of the ocean floor. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia.org)

Expeditions this year include also NOAA's Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas Trench – a 59-day voyage with 22 dives into the planet's deepest known canyons in the Pacific Ocean near Guam.

NOAA explorers added three new hydrothermal vents to the world's inventory and a new high-temperature "black smoker" vent field composed of chimneys up to 30 meters tall - the height of a nine-story building.

Also revealed: a tiny spot volcano (the first ever discovered in US waters), a new mud volcano, thick gardens of deep-sea corals and sponges, a rare high-density community of basket stars and crinoids (a living fossil), and historic wreckage from World War II.

Bizarre animals

Scores of spectacular, rare and sometimes baffling unknown species encountered on this year's first-ever voyages to new deep ocean areas include several purple animals such as:

• A bizarre purple "mud monster": the "acorn worm."
• Swimming purple sea cucumber, reminiscent of a flying Mary Poppins.
• A mysterious purple orb, likened by one scientist to a disco ball, that may prove to be new to science.
• A rare purple Vampire Squid, (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), a deep-sea creature nicknamed for its deep color and red eyes (not because it feeds on blood).
• Stubby "googly-eyed" purple animal looking like a cross between an octopus and a squid.

Click here to read more and see photos of these amazing creatures.

2016 National Ocean Exploration Forum

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