Ocean Soup: In the "undisturbed waters" off South East North Carolina. And yet, more worms! Christmas Tree Worms, Spirobranchus sp. cluster on the hull of the artificial reef/wreck "Markham". When the vessel was sunk in 1994 it was capsized on it's port side to allow clearance for passing ship traffic. Maximum depth is round 25 metres, 85 feet, and the hull rises to 17 metres, 55 feet. There is a vast amount of hard, and fairly stable surface upon which colonies of sessile marine invertebrates can settle. For the curious, a close look will yield sights like this. Every centimetre thickly covered with life...and death. Within the 15 x 20 centimetres in this frame, aside from the worms, are sponges, hydroids, tunicates, singular coral polyps, algae's; dozens of marine plants and animals, some easily identified and others, not so. This is the life of our ocean; another world just over the horizon from where we live. And it begs us to do all we can to nurture it as we would our neighbours, our community.

https://deq.nc.gov/.../coastal-fishing.../artificial-reefs

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/.../viewconten...

 In the "undisturbed waters" off South East North Carolina. The topic today is worms. A Christmas Tree Worm, Spirobranchus sp. casts a glorious net on the wreck of the Normania. The colourful radioles provide for both respiration and collecting a meal. They are most often associated with tropical waters where they set their tubular calcium carbonate burrows into or upon the surface of various live, stoney corals. But in these waters they will fashion burrows on/in the thick, calcified layers of dead invertebrates that build upon artificial objects-in this case, the engine of a sunken wreck. The worm features two colourful crowns, each appx. 1.5-2 cm in diameter.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/xmas-tree.html

"I have heard about living at the centre. But what about living at the centre of the centre?"

Rumi

 An elegant Atlantic Sea Nettle, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, gracefully makes it's way through the darkening evening sea in the "undisturbed waters" off South East North Carolina. Offshore jellyfish tend to be larger than those found inshore, or in estuarine waters. The diameter of the bell of this individual is 20-25 cm or 8-10". This is the species favoured for most public aquarium displays because it's movements can be quite mesmerising. What is notably missing in those displays are the many species of juvenile fish that gather within the protective net of the Sea Nettle's stinging tentacles; a common sight in the wild. For me, capturing a shot like this while floating in a dark sea is an exhilarating stroke of good fortune-A lucky shot!

Ocean Soup 

Another bumpy day in the "undisturbed waters" off SE North Carolina. As the morning wore on, on ominous cloudbank to the north descended upon us bringing brisk NE winds and choppy seas. Once again, enough of a lee allowed two morning dives before heading back to Beaufort. And of course the sun broke through the clouds the moment we made the inlet; c'est la vie : / Meanwhile, beneath the waves, clouds of baitfish in massive silver coils swirled round us, and streaked off into the infinite murk, reappearing, and just as quickly, disappearing in great, dark shadows flashing against the light of the surface. And on the verges lurked the larger pelagic predators, amberjacks and barracuda; ready to dart in and alter the choreography.