Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, are set to explore the world’s deepest undersea volcanoes and find out what lives in a ‘lost world’ five kilometres beneath the Caribbean, using the UK’s newest research ship, RRS James Cook. From the ship, the team will send the remotely-operated vehicle Isis, and new robot submarine, Autosub6000 into the abyss.

In two expeditions over three years, the researchers will look for new geological features and new species of marine life in the rift on the seafloor.

Team leader, Dr. Jon Copely explained: “The deep ocean is the largest ecosystem on our plant, so we need to understand its patterns of life.

“Deep-sea exploration has also given us new cancer treatment and better fibre-optic cables for the internet, both thanks to deep sea creatures.”

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