On October 15, an international research team led by UD marine biologist Craig Cary will set sail from Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on the 17-day expedition Extreme 2001: A Deep-Sea Odyssey. Their mission will be to explore one of the most demanding environments on Earth -- super-hot hydrothermal vents nearly 2 miles deep on the Pacific Ocean floor.

The research team of scientists and graduate students will travel aboard the 274-foot research vessel Atlantis to their dive site in the Pacific and then descend to the vents in the submersible Alvin, which helped locate the wreck of the Titanic. Atlantis and Alvin are operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Under Dr. Cary's direction, the researchers will study the vents and the organisms that inhabit them, including the Pompeii worm -- the world's "hottest" animal, able to withstand temperatures up to 176°F.

Through a special educational project sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the University of Delaware will share the excitement of marine research with classrooms around the nation and with the public through an interactive Web site. To follow along, dive into:

www.ocean.udel.edu/extreme2001