Mike Vardaro
LightNews LightNews
banner
echinocrepis.bsky.social
Mike Vardaro
@echinocrepis.bsky.social
530 followers 200 following 54 posts
Marine biologist, invertebrate enthusiast, pop culture nerd, and Philly native. Sea urchins are cool. [he/him]
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
R/V Atlantis SSSG Allison Heater helps V’25 student Nate Bodensteiner and RCA scientist Joe Duprey cock Niskin bottles for water sampling at Axial Seamount (2600 m depth). Analyses of the recovered fluids help verify data from the RCA moorings and seafloor sensors. 🌊🚢🧪

PC: M. Elend, UW, V25
Three people opening and prepping a numbered series of large, gray bottles for holding water on the side deck of a ship.
January 17, 2026 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
Two roughtail skates sit in the mud among carbonate rubble at Southern Hydrate Ridge. These shark relatives are often seen lying partially buried on the seafloor at productive sites like this, where their prey (shellfish, worms, and small fish) are abundant. 🌊🚢🧪

PC: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, J2-1715, V25
Two purple skates (one facing left, the other in the background and partially buried, facing right) lying on the greenish-brown mud of the seafloor at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Small carbonate rocks are scattered around, along with a crab, an anemone, a red rockfish, and other animals. A purple roughtail skate facing the left side of the image, lying on the greenish-brown mud of the seafloor at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Small, yellowish carbonate rocks are scattered around it.
January 9, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
VISIONS students help tech Alex Rose (2nd from left) prep a “Mosquito” instrument. It injects dye into the seafloor at Southern Hydrate Ridge then sucks fluid into coiled tubes to measure sediment seawater flow. It's complicated to assemble so more hands are always helpful! 🌊🚢🧪
PC: M. Elend, UW, V24
A group of four UW students in purple gloves sitting on the floor in the ship's dry lab. They surround a triangular frame that they are assembling into a flow sampling instrument using a set of cylindrical coils of tubing and tools that are sitting on the floor next to it.
January 5, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
briancgrubb.bsky.social
might watch this video 100 times before the day is over
jjvincent.bsky.social James Vincent @jjvincent.bsky.social · 21d
another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
December 27, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
One month in a minute and a half! Enjoy this video highlight reel from our 2025 OOI-RCA maintenance cruise, and check out our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@interactive...) for more underwater video and sea life highlights. Happy Holidays! 🌊🚢🧪
December 20, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
A lava "whirlpool" formed during the 2011 Axial Seamount eruption and frozen in time. When subsurface magma erupts onto the seafloor as 1200°C lava, it hits near-freezing seawater and crusts over with a layer of glass, forming incredible river-like shapes! 🌊🚢🧪

PC: UW/NSF/OOI/WHOI; J2-1737, V25.
A black spiral of volcanic basalt rock on the seafloor in the caldera of an underwater volcano. It is sprinkled with some greenish-brown mud and surrounded by white tube worms and mussel shells.
December 12, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
VISIONS'25 student technicians Alex Rose and Emily Pinneo help sample diffuse fluids entrained in a recovered osmosampler from the ASHES hydrothermal field. The samples provide a year-long record of hydrothermal fluid composition. 🌊🚢🧪

PC: M. Elend, University of Washington, V25
Two UW students in the ship's laboratory wearing purple gloves adjust a triangular frame containing cylinders of coiled tubing that make up a diffuse fluid sampler.
December 5, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
UW RCA student worker Jolee Thirtyacre and one of our VISIONS’25 students assisting with CTD water sample processing. VISIONS students experience life at sea, stand ROV watches, and assist with many aspects of science conducted onboard the ship. 🌊🚢🧪

PC: M. Elend, University of Washington, V25.
OOI-RCA student worker Jolee Thirtyacre and a student wearing UW- appropriate purple gloves while they sample water from a CTD rosette on the side deck of the R/V Atlantis off the coast of Oregon.
November 21, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
On October 24, 2025 the RCA team participated in One Ocean Week Seattle aboard the historic sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl from Bergen, Norway! Over 200 people came to view poster presentations and demonstration tables-ours included! 🌊🚢🧪
November 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
rebeccarhelm.bsky.social
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
September 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
ROV video of an absolute mob of sablefish (black cod) swirling around the OOI-RCA benthic experiment package (BEP) at our Oregon Offshore site, about 40 miles offshore and 582 m deep. The yellow frame contains 8 different cabled oceanographic sensors. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, J2-1741, V25 🌊🧪🚢
August 28, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
The UW-RCA group just spent about a week turning OOI equipment at Axial Seamount, an active volcano about 200 miles off the Oregon coast. The seafloor in the caldera is covered with fantastic basalt formations, hydrothermal flows, and unique biological communities. 🌊🧪🚢
A lava swirl formed and frozen in place during a previous Axial eruption A fuzzy spider crab (minus one leg) was intrigued by the ROV and posed for a photo. A deep-sea octopus resting on some jumbled basalt, next to a bacterial mat. Pillars holding up a "roof" of basalt, formed by a pool of lava that slowly drained away, leaving "bathtub rings" and a hollow chamber behind.
August 26, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
The OOI-RCA cruise has been conducting multiple dives at Axial Seamount (an underwater volcano off the Oregon coast), including deployments at several different hydrothermal vent fields. The weather has been excellent for ROV operations - hopefully that will hold for the next few days!
The Jason ROV being brought back aboard the Atlantis at dawn following dive J2-1725. Credit: M. Vardaro, University of Washington, V25. The high definition video camera as seen from Jason imaging the Mushroom hydrothermal vent in ASHES. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; J2-1728, V25. A high-temperature probe sticking out of a small hydrothermal chimney at Tiny Towers, a vent in the International District vent field. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; J2-1729, V25. Sunset over the Pacific, as seen from the R/V Atlantis above Axial Seamount. Credit: M. Vardaro, University of Washington, V25.
August 22, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
The OOI-RCA Shallow Profiler mooring platforms sit at 200 meters depth, over time becoming midwater islands of biodiversity as organisms like feather stars and nudibranchs settle on the hard surfaces of the flotation and instrument housings. 🌊🚢🧪
Two sea slugs (possibly Hermissenda opalescens, also known as the opalescent nudibranch) crawling on the side of the Axial Base Shallow Profiler (200 meters depth). Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/WHOI; Dive J2-1702; V25 Spectacular feather stars, urchins, brittle stars, and scallops colonize the Shallow Platform at 200 m water depth at the Oregon Offshore site. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, J2-1698, V25. A swarm of krill engulfs the Oregon Offshore Shallow Profiler mooring as the ROV Jason conducts a survey after replacing the profiler pod. Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/WHOI; Dive J2-1698; V25
August 18, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social
The 11th O&M Expedition for the cabled component of the NSF-OOI has begun, 7/31 - 8/31/2025! Live video from the R/V Atlantis & Jason ROV can be seen here: interactiveoceans.washington.edu/visions25-li...
🌊🧪🚢

PC 1: J. Tilley, UW-APL, V25.
PC 2: M. Elend, University of Washington, V25
Breaching Humpback whale off the coast of Newport, OR. Credit: J. Tilley, UW-APL, V25 Leg 1 VISIONS'25 students on the bow of the R/V Atlantis as the ship departs Newport. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington, V25
August 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
drandrewthaler.bsky.social
It's finally out! 18 months in the making, @fieseler.bsky.social's outstanding documentary on deep-sea mining and an exploration of why some stories capture the public imagination while others don't.

Nodules: Deep-Sea Life Giver or Key to Our Energy Future?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jcm...
Nodules: Deep-Sea Life Giver or Key to Our Energy Future?
YouTube video by Scientific American
www.youtube.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
skypeascientist.bsky.social
Drumroll please…

This year’s advent calendars…

Designed by @ehrenenglish.bsky.social…

Will be…

EEL FACTS!!!!

Get one at squidfacts.bigcartel.com

Advent calendars keep Skype a scientist running (weird funding strategy, but hey! It works!), so share these far and wide ❤️
The eel facts advent calendar has 5 species of eel on it, ribbon eels which are royal blue and bright yellow, american and european eels hanging out in some eelgrass, a yellow moray, and 2 splendid garden eels which are orange and yellow. The boxes are all numbered in fun boxes with orange and light organ zigzags and a yellow oval in each with the number of the day
July 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM
echinocrepis.bsky.social
No Kings (Oakland, CA)
A large group of protesters marching beneath a huge mural of a Black girl called “No Hunger” in Oakland, CA
June 14, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
deepseamoleco.bsky.social
The EPR is erupting! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/s...
Volcanic Eruption in Deep Ocean Ridge Is Witnessed by Scientists for First Time
Researchers diving in a submersible in the eastern Pacific realized that the landscape they had studied the day before had been glassed over by fresh lava.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
I don't know who needs to hear this, but:

1) Megalodon was real, but is definitely super-duper extinct now. (If it wasn't, there'd be evidence, and there isn't any).

2) Mermaids were never real.

3) Narwhal and giant squid are real and you get to live on Earth at the same time as them!
March 20, 2025 at 12:48 PM
echinocrepis.bsky.social
I’m anti death penalty, but I just learned about a person who RIPS OUT THE PAGES OF BOOKS AS HE READS THEM, leaving an empty shell when he’s done. So I’m revising my position.
January 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
jasonschreier.bsky.social
UFO 50 is an astonishing accomplishment — a pack of fifty full-fledged games that may make you nostalgic for a 1980s video game console that never actually existed. This week's column: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
This New Video Game Is Actually 50 New Video Games
UFO 50 might make you nostalgic for games that never actually existed
www.bloomberg.com
September 20, 2024 at 5:05 PM
echinocrepis.bsky.social
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #362,935! Apparently. I should maybe check in more…
September 18, 2024 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
jessicacv.bsky.social
We’re posting tiny cups?! Here are the recent ones my spouse @echinocrepis.bsky.social made. The rest are in a box somewhere. I love them
8 shrunken styrofoam cups with various designs including a purple octopus, a red squid, and a pika
September 18, 2024 at 4:41 AM
Reposted by Mike Vardaro
jessicacv.bsky.social
Someone said it was post videos of your pets day?

Here is Zuko cocking his head every time I say “walk”
September 12, 2024 at 2:20 AM