Two thousand meters below sea level, an unmanned submarine videotaped footage of species and underwater landscapes that have never been viewed before. At the same time, University of Massachusetts microbiologist Jim Holden directed the operation from his lab in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The expedition to explore the Indonesian seas is part of a five-year collaborative program between Indonesia and the United States.
“The State Department proposed it, and wanted an Indonesian partnership because Indonesia has a Muslim majority and because we are both maritime nations,” said Holden.
Little exploration has been conducted in the region before this project, which gives the research enormous potential for scientific discoveries. According to the Associated Press, the scientists involved with the research have already found 40 potential new species of plants and animals.
“My favorite was this bizarre squid that was really long with these amazing undulating fins,” Holden said. “The way it glided was like nothing I have ever seen before.”
One of the factors of the project that attracted Holden was Indonesia’s location, more specifically its position in the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a circle of highly active volcanoes found in the Pacific Ocean.
These underwater volcanoes create hydrothermal vents, oceanic niches home to microorganisms which can survive at temperatures greater than 100 degrees Celsius. Holden has spent his career studying these microorganisms.
“Four tectonic plates collide in Indonesia, which creates a biologically lush environment with intriguing possibilities,” Holden said.
In order to better explore these hydrothermal regions, scientists used a new technology known as telepresence. This new technology allows scientists to work without actually being underwater.
Instead, scientists from the U.S. and Indonesia collaborated, some working in a command center in Seattle, while others worked in Jakarta.
Holden split two-months time between Jakarta and his office on the UMass campus.
“One of the cool things about the technology is that I participated in exploring the deep sea while in Amherst – even though I had to stay up till 3 a.m. in the morning,” Holden said.
At the Seattle command center, scientists received real-time footage from the unmanned submarine via high speed Internet pathways and satellite. As “chief spokesperson for the scientists,” Holden communicated between scientists and technicians on the boat.
“I could tell them to hold the camera on one thing for a minute or to go and explore just up over that hill, and they would do it,” Holden said.
While working in Jakarta Holden would explain to the Indonesian scientists what they were seeing, while viewing the footage.
“It was very new to them,” Holden said. “A lot of my job was explaining what they were seeing on the monitor to them. I very much wanted to explain the value to them so they could conserve and appreciate their waters.”
Overall, Holden feels the mission ran smoothly.
“The weather cooperated nearly all the time. We had the usual glitches and
troubleshooting, but we didn’t have a lot of down time on the equipment. The biggest complication was the traffic jam between my hotel room and the command center,” Holden said.
Despite time-consuming traffic on the ten mile strip between the hotel and the command center during his daily commute, Holden enjoyed his time in Indonesia.
“They were great hosts. I stayed in a four-star luxury hotel that was less expensive than an average hotel in the U.S. The people all spoke English and were really friendly,” said Holden.
As part of the collaboration, some of the Indonesian scientists will travel to Amherst and work with University researchers.
Holden intends to return to Jakarta in the next few years to collect samples to further study the underwater landscapes and specimens.
Katie Landeck can be reached at [email protected].
