Expedition Update: Farallon Islands

On October 22-25, 2016, a partnership between OceanGate Foundation and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries mounted an exciting expedition to explore the depths around the Farallon Islands, 30 miles offshore from San Francisco.

The expedition chartered the Cyclops 1 submersible to take 5 crew to explore 3 target sites: the Ituna shipwreck and two local seamounts.

After 2 days of diving in the sanctuary, inclement weather and unkind seas forced the expedition inland, and the team spent 2 days diving in the San Francisco Bay, exploring the depths around the iconic Alcatraz Island. BME co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein joined the OceanGate crew for an amazing experience diving beneath one of America's most popular waterways.

(Photos courtesy of NOAA, OceanGate, and BME.)

Exploring Volcanoes to Save Lives

Last month BME's co-founder and Chief Explorer, Scott Parazynski, participated in an incredible expedition led by Sam Cossman of Qwake. The team went where no human being had ever gone before--into the mouth of an active volcano--to deploy innovative technology that could provide an early-warning system for millions of people.

Sponsored by General Electric, the expedition focused on the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua. The team consisted of explorers, scientists, filmmakers, and riggers, who ensured everyone's safety while lowering them into the volcano.

Over the course of several weeks, the team made several descents to "Level 0", just above the molten lava, to deploy a network of sensors that will "connect" the volcano for scientists to study and evaluate. Once activated, the network will help provide advance notice of potential eruptions to the millions of Nicaraguans who live near the volcano.

The Qwake team is currently working on a documentary to showcase their work at the volcano, so stay tuned for exciting footage coming out soon!

[All photos courtesy of Qwake]