Dewees friend Dr. Leslie Sautter is conducting some really interesting research off the Oregon Coast.  According to Tuesday’s Post and Courier, 

Vents from undersea volcanoes called “snowblowers” spew fresh micro- organisms in a white, slurry-like snow.

The bacterial material is the beginning of sea life. Getting a real-time look at a snowblower at work is groundbreaking science.

A geology class of College of Charleston students is getting an up-close look this week, exploring a vent never seen before.

On Tuesday, they watched a live feed of a submersible exploring the vent in the recently erupted volcano — Axial Seamount — about 250 miles off the Oregon coast. On Thursday they will watch the broadcast finale of the research. The astonishing start to the fall semester is courtesy of the National Science Foundation and of the class’s teacher, Associate Professor Leslie Sautter, who is aboard the research ship Thomas G. Thompson. Sautter has held the first few classes of the fall semester by Skype, a video hookup.

You can click here to get to the video footage or their live feed… it is really interesting to see what may be completely new science.

Dr. Sautter is a great resource on the island for our Environmental Program Board, since she and her students have studied our geomorphology and helped us predict erosion/accretion patterns on the front beach.