Explore Deep-Sea Corals of the Aleutian Seas on alaskascienceoutreach.com

As researchers cruise the Aleutian island chain to gather information about Alaska's coral "garden" habitats, you can surf along July 24-Aug. 8 on Alaska Science Outreach. The site will post live updates from the coral research cruise, as conditions permit, from July 24-August 8 at http://www.alaskascienceoutreach.com.

July 23, 2004 -- Alaska Science Outreach invites you to come along July 24-August 8, 2004 as scientists take Aleutian deep-sea coral research to new depths.

To understand the mysterious and beautiful world of Alaska's corals and help document the threats facing them, scientists will use the remotely operated vehicle Jason II to document coral habitat at previously unexplored depths along the Aleutian chain. It will be the farthest north journey ever for Jason II, and the deepest-ever views of the Aleutian seafloor.

The cruise is part of an ambitious multi-agency effort to create a comprehensive map of Aleutian coral life.

Alaska Science Outreach reporter Sonya Senkowsky will post regular updates from the mission. And members of the public may submit questions for the scientists through the site's "AL*ASK*A*SCIENTIST" form.

Members of the public and media are invited to follow the cruise progress starting Saturday, July 24, at http://www.alaskascienceoutreach.com.

Editors are welcomed to publish or broadcast materials from the cruise. High-resolution images and broadcast-quality audio files will be available after the cruise; they will be posted during the cruise as conditions permit. To request supplementary materials during the trip (news media only, please), see the Multimedia page for more information, or send a request to e-mail protected from spam bots. Be aware that communication from sea may be limited.

For more about the research, see the NOAA/NMFS release at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/newsreleases/coral071604.htm

Updates will be posted between July 24 and August 8 as conditions permit. Alaska Science Outreach is an independently produced service of AlaskaWriter LLC.

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