Deep Connections 2019: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts of the United States and Canada

Past Expedition

Dates

August 6 through September 15, 2019

Location

Atlantic Ocean

Overview

From August 6 through September 15, 2019, NOAA and partners conducted a telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly understood deepwater areas of the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic continental margin.

This infographic provides a snapshot of the expedition by the numbers.

Expedition Summary

Deep Connections 2019: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts of the United States and Canada was a two-part, telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition. The overarching purpose of the expedition was to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly understood deep water areas of the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic continental margin.

October 21, 2019

Career Paths to the Okeanos

Something that’s not always obvious from an outside perspective are the many roles that are essential for the ship to function in order to fulfill its mission of scientific exploration and outreach. But how did all of these people, with their unique skill sets and contributions, end up on the Okeanos Explorer?

September 16, 2019

The shallowest depth that the ROV Deep Discoverer dives at is 250 meters, below the depth that severe storms have been measured to cause disturbances.

Hurricanes and the Deep Sea

While the physical effects of hurricanes on near-shore ecosystems, such as shallow-water coral reefs and estuaries are well documented, little research has been conducted on the direct impacts of hurricanes on the deep sea.

September 14, 2019

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The author, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration Video Editor Emily Narrow, in the video chair aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

Behind the Scenes With the Video Team

Anyone familiar with the ocean exploration missions that take place on board NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer knows that video content plays a key role in our mission. With video content playing such an important role in our operations, it makes sense to have a dedicated video team.

September 13, 2019

Northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus) actively feeding on a large swarm of crustaceans during dive 3 of the Deep Connections 2019 expedition.

The Lobster Dinner

While exploring a shallow (306-358 meter) soft-bottom area off Canada on August 31, 2019, ROV Deep Discoverer (D2) came across a large lobster eating its dinner. What did the lobster have for dinner? Calamari. But how could a lobster catch a squid?

September 12, 2019

A shortfin squid swims by a large coral during a dive on Kinlan Canyon, the sixth dive site of Deep Connections 2019.

Deep-sea Exploration in Support of Resource Management Off the Northeast U.S.

While the exploration of the deep sea can and should be undertaken for its own sake, it is important to remember that the data we collect can become essential components used by resource managers.

September 11, 2019

Three-dimensional perspective of a ROV Deep Discoverer dive track (white lines) and waypoints (red points) with superposed water column bubble plumes (multi-colored point clouds) imaged by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during a previous mission. Methane bubble plumes at Norfolk Seeps have been imaged rising over 900 meters (2,950 feet) above the seafloor in previous surveys. Bathymetric data were collected with the Okeanos Explorer multibeam sonar and are contoured at 10-meter (about 33-foot) intervals. The locations of previously identified seeps are indicated with white points. All data shown at two times vertical exaggeration.

An Ocean of Data

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expeditions are most well-known for capturing never-before-seen footage of the deep sea and creating beautiful maps of the seafloor. But did you know that these videos and maps are only part of the data that is collected during Okeanos Explorer expeditions?

September 10, 2019

Scientists participating in dive 1 of the Deep Connections 2019 expedition from the newly established exploration command center at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Canadian Partner Participation via the Bedford Institute of Oceanography’s New Exploration Command Center

The Deep Connections 2019 expedition provided the unique opportunity for Canadian scientists and ocean managers to collect data and provide regional expertise on unexplored deep-sea habitats of our Atlantic continental margin--all without actually stepping foot aboard a vessel.

September 9, 2019

Clavularia, here seen during dive 6 of Deep Connections 2019, is a stoloniferous octocoral that grows in ribbons and mats over rock or skeletons of coral or sponges. The purple color is due to a pigment in the soft tissue and the white is reflections from sclerites.

What is a Sclerite?

You usually don’t have to listen to very much of an Okeanos Explorer dive before you hear one of the scientists refer to “sclerites” when looking closely at an octocoral. What are these structures?

September 5, 2019

Location of The Gully Marine Protected Area.

Exploring Kinlan Canyon

In 2018, only a year and a half after Dr. Brian P. Kinlan passed away, his colleagues in the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, NOAA Fisheries Office of Science & Technology, as well as the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, joined together to commemorate his life’s work by naming Kinlan Canyon in his honor.

September 3, 2019

Engineer Dan Rogers, from the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, gives visitors a close-up look at ROV Deep Discoverer. Visitors were able to learn about the technological features of this submersible vehicle during the ship tours held on August 23, 2019 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Welcome Aboard: Ship Tours in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

On the afternoon of August 23rd, 2019, we hosted a series of four tours of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer while the ship was docked at the Center for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) pier in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

August 31, 2019

The bubblegum coral Paragorgia arborea growing on a boulder in the Northeast Channel.

Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area

Over the last two decades, Canada has made significant progress in mapping, studying and protecting cold-water corals in its waters. In 2002, the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area was established under the Fisheries Act in an effort to protect a dense concentration of large gorgonian corals from bottom contact fishing.

August 29, 2019

The Gully Marine Protected Area

Two hundred kilometers (~125 miles) off Nova Scotia, Canada, lies one of the most unique and diverse marine ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Known as the Gully, this undersea canyon was formed by the movement of melting glaciers thousands of years ago.

August 28, 2019

Dr. Martha Nizinski (right) and Dr. Anna Metaxas shared chief scientist duties during the previous transboundary cruises. Here, each attends to samples collected by the Canadian ROV ROPOS. These samples serve as taxonomic vouchers that further our understanding of the composition, distribution and larval transport of species among canyons.

Shared Resources, Shared Responsibilities: Partnerships Promote Better Understanding of the North Atlantic as a Whole

We often hear the statement that “it takes a village” to describe accomplishments that may not have been realized without a little help from our friends. So too is the case for scientific exploration and discovery.

August 5, 2019

During leg 2 of the Deep Connections 2019 expedition ROV Deep Discoverer will be used to acquire high-definition visual data and collect limited physical samples in poorly explored areas of the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic Continental Margin. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.

Mission Plan

From August 6 through September 15, 2019, NOAA and partners will conduct a telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly understood deepwater areas of the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic continental margin.

August 5, 2019

Predictive model of deep water coral presence in the Gulf of Mexico, produced using MaxEnt ecological habitat mapping software. Hot colors are likely suitable habitats for deep water corals, while cold colors are unsuitable for corals. Figure courtesy of Matt Poti, NOAA.

Predictive Modeling and Ocean Exploration

Predictive modeling is essentially making mathematical “educated guesses” of unsampled locations based on observations, or previously sampled locations, and predictors, which are complementary datasets correlated with observations.

August 5, 2019

A cluster of deepwater corals grows on hard substrate exposed on the western wall of Oceanographer Canyon.

Importance of Connectivity

The oceans can appear to be a homogeneous body of water through which animals can move freely. However that view is deceptive and we know that marine animals and plants are found in specific habitats and areas and that their distributions can range from whole oceans to specialized locales.

August 5, 2019

Canyons and Seamounts: Deep, Steep, and Worth Exploring

For this Okeanos Explorer expedition, the name “Deep Connections” refers to both the U.S.-Canada connections forged and strengthened through the this transboundary expedition, and submarine canyons, the “deep connections” between the shallow continental shelf and the deep sea.

August 5, 2019

Corals were diverse on Mytilus Seamount, but composition and abundance of corals differed between the north and south side of the seamount. We observed this colony of Jasonisis, a bamboo coral, with numerous crinoid associates.

Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

On September 15, 2016, President Barack Obama established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument by Presidential Proclamation 9496 (81 FR 65159), under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906.

August 5, 2019