Heavy rains and high winds forced the cancellation of yesterday’s dive to cold seeps and deep-water corals at Mississippi Canyon (MC) 036. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

In 2010, WHOI’s autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry mapped MC036, the location of the next dive. In 2011, deep-sea corals were discovered at the site 1095 meters below the sea surface. (Image courtesy of NOAA/NRDA)

Alvin Expedition Leader Bruce Strickrott fits and tests an emergency breathing apparatus (EBA) for University of Minnesota engineer Tan Chunyang. The EBAs are used only in extreme emergencies. Normally, tanks in the personnel sphere supply oxygen and a "scrubber" removes carbon dioxide. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Nathan Brown, an engineer in the Alvin Group, removed the side panels of the sub to check a system in preparation for a dive. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Engineer Jefferson Grau, prepares for a dive in the Alvin Group workspace aboard the research vessel Atlantis. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

As dawn broke, the waves in the Gulf of Mexico had a little more pep—a harbinger of higher winds to come. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)