China's ROV gains 500 collections of biological samples in Pacific Ocean

Discovery, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) aboard China's research vessel KEXUE (Science), has gathered more than 500 collections of biological samples in 10 dives in two seamounts of the western Pacific Ocean by Thursday.

Photo taken on May 30, 2019 shows the squat lobster collected by Discovery, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) aboard China's research vessel KEXUE (Science), in western Pacific Ocean in a recent dive. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Xudong]

Chinese scientists estimated that there were about 200 species in the collections, including corals, sponges, sea lilies and aplysias.

"Discovery also collected two rare deep-water sea slugs and mysterious sea squirt with transparent body," said Xu Kuidong, chief scientist aboard the vessel and a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Science.

Photo taken on May 30, 2019 shows the sponge collected by Discovery, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) aboard China's research vessel KEXUE (Science), in western Pacific Ocean in a recent dive. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Xudong]

These samples will help scientists to research biological diversities, ecological systems and biological distributions of the seamounts, Xu said.

Besides, KEXUE photographed several "seabed gardens" with colorful corals and sponges on Tuesday in a seamount, which are hardly seen in tropical zone of the western Pacific Ocean. It also captured more than 50 seabed rocks for geologists.

Photo taken on May 30, 2019 shows the sea cucumber collected by Discovery, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) aboard China's research vessel KEXUE (Science), in western Pacific Ocean in a recent dive. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Xudong]

Departing from Qingdao in east China on May 18, KEXUE is carrying out a 20-day investigation here and is scheduled to go back to Xiamen of China's Fujian Province on June 23.

Photo taken on May 30, 2019 shows the coral collected by Discovery, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) aboard China's research vessel KEXUE (Science), in western Pacific Ocean in a recent dive. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Xudong]