Expedition leaders decided to move on to our primary target site—an undersea volcano at 85°N, 85°E where evidence for hydrothermal plumes was detected in 2001. That signaled the end of scientific operations for the moment. With that, it seemed as if the adrenaline that had kept everyone awake and moving over the endless days, suddenly drained away. In its place, exhaustion swept in. People came in from the cold, peeled themselves out of the bulky exposure suits they had been swaddled in for hours, and took a load off their feet. Some sat and thought, and some just sat. Others disappeared and “racked out,” collapsing into their beds, called “racks” on ships, and fell asleep almost immediately.
Read on about our adventure in the slideshow below. Can't see the slideshow? Get the Flash plug in »
