EXPEDITION
TO EXPLORE REMARKABLE DEEP-SEA MOUNTAIN;
PUBLIC CAN FOLLOW DAILY PROGRESS VIA NOAA WEB SITE
Biologically
rich deep-sea mountains called “seamounts” have long been
known to science. The waters around seamounts are incredibly productive—feeding
grounds for everything from fishes to sharks, albatrosses and sperm
whales. They may be home to vast fields of sponges and forests of centuries-old
corals, deep-water relatives of the tropical corals. But by and large,
little is known about what lives on the slopes of these ancient undersea
volcanoes.
Beginning Friday, May 17, the secrets of one seamount will be revealed.
A team of researchers from four marine science institutions will explore
the Davidson Seamount 1,300 meters (4,000 feet) below the ocean’s
surface off California’s Big Sur coast, just outside the Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The public can share their daily discoveries
through a web site created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). The expedition will continue through Friday, May 24.
Based on a preliminary survey of the seamount conducted in May 2000
by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), scientists
expect both biological and geological surprises. They will use a remotely
operated vehicle (ROV) to take their closest look ever at the 2,300-meter
(7,874-foot) high underwater mountain—the first deep-sea feature
to be formally categorized as a seamount.
The expedition will use MBARI’s research ship, the Western Flyer,
and its state-of-the-art ROV Tiburon, a robotic submersible that can
dive 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface. In
addition to MBARI researchers, the expedition team will include scientists
from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
and Moss Landing Marine Labs.
The team will travel 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of Monterey
to study the Davidson Seamount. Headed by chief scientist Dr. Andrew
De Vogelaere, research coordinator for the Monterey National Marine
Sanctuary, the explorers will be an interdisciplinary team including
geologists, marine biologists, educators and resource managers, with
a wide range of expertise.
They will be studying the living creatures found on and around the seamount,
taking geological samples and mapping the 40-kilometer (25-mile) long
seamount.
What they discover will be available to the public on a daily basis
on NOAA’s Ocean Explorer web site, http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02davidson/davidson.html.
Photos, video clips and diary entries by the scientists will be posted
there. Visitors to the web site will also have opportunities to email
questions about the work for the scientists to answer.
“Seamounts are biological hot-spots in the world’s oceans,”
De Vogelaere said. “Because they’re distant from shore and
in deep water, they haven’t been heavily exploited—yet.
We’re eager to bring new scientific tools to the project, and
to use the web site to reach the public as we’re making discoveries
about this unique and special place.”
Explorers will be expanding on the video surveys of bottom communities
made earlier by MBARI, collecting biological samples of seafloor organisms,
and conducting surveys of fish, seabird and marine mammal populations
around the seamount. If possible, they will also use special darts to
collect tissue samples from passing sperm whales for genetic studies
to understand broader population patterns among these marine mammals.
Some deep-water animals could be collected and become part of the Monterey
Bay Aquarium’s living deep sea exhibit, “Mysteries of the
Deep.” Video from the expedition could ultimately be featured
in the aquarium’s “Exploring Monterey Canyon” auditorium
program.
“The expedition may also help shape ocean policy,” De Vogelaere
said. “If seamounts are as biologically rich as we believe, what
we find could show that they’re in need of special protection.”
This is
a joint release from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Monterey
Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and Moss Landing
Marine Labs.
Background photos, maps and video clips from the 2000 expedition are
available through the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (see
www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2002/may08_davidson.html);
