North Atlantic's Hydrothermal Vents: Irish expedition sets out to study the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Marine scientists have examined some of the world's deep ocean thermal vents that harbor remarkable sealife found no where else on the planet. Living without sunlight, sometimes in temperatures that could bake bread, bacteria, worms, and crabs flourish at the site of these vents which often spew what looks like smoke but is actually a rich cocktail of minerals. The vents typically exist along fault lines that run deep in the ocean.

Running basically down the center of the Atlantic ocean is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and scientists from Ireland are preparing to study the northern portion of the ridge, in search of deep water corals and thermal vents. Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), researchers from the University College, Cork and UK's National Oceanography Centre set out this past week to examine in greater detail the "45 degree North MAR hydrothermal vent field" which was first discovered in 2008. The ROV will be working at a depth of over 9,800 feet.

As reported in the Irish Weather Online, "'This expedition offers us the first opportunity to investigate mineral deposits and vent animals in this unexplored and important part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,' said Dr. Bramley Murton of the National Oceanography Centre, who is now leading the mineralisation study on the expedition. 'Nothing is known about the hydrothermal vents, their mineral deposits or the life they support on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the islands of the Azores to the south and Iceland to the north. Because this part of the ridge is trapped between these islands, vent animals may have evolved in isolation and be quite unique from elsewhere.'"

The expedition is being documented by National Geographic for an upcoming series on the ocean. Many of the research institutions involved are hoping that this research effort will help establish Ireland as a recognized deep sea science center. However, while a little nation pride can be a good thing, the focus of attention will be on the possible discovery of heretofore unknown animals. In addition, the economic potential of the types and quantity of minerals given off by the vents will be investigated.

It was always assumed that virtually nothing could survive in the deepest reaches of the ocean. But with the discovery of hydrothermal vents and deep water corals, scientists are having to re-write some of the rules as they continue to discover ecosystems based on entirely new biological principles.

Read about the expedition in the Irish Weather Online.

New Finds in Newfoundland: discoveries in cold Canadian depths

One often thinks of near-Arctic waters as not a likely environment for corals and sponges - or for much else for that matter. And if it's deep, when we think of life, we think of thermal vents and the temperatures and nutrients that spawn unusual species.

And yet, scientists and researchers from the Canadian Fisheries Department, Canadian and Spanish universities have discovered new coral and sponge species off the coast of Newfoundland - species whose coloration and beauty would befit a tropical reef.

Using a robotic submersible (ROV), the researchers plumbed the depths as deep as 9,800 feet (3 km) in an area protected by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization. At these deep depths, species of coral, like gorgonian sea fans, grow extremely large (over 3 feet in height) and provide shelter for sealife and even protection from currents - much like trees.

As reported in the Montreal Gazette, according to Fisheries Department scientist Ellen Kenchington, “It’s a similar function a tree would serve in the forest, cutting down wind, providing branches for birds. We have the same type of communities that take shelter down there.”

As the researchers continue their work for the next few weeks, they will be assessing the condition of this protected area to determine whether additional sanctions are needed in other areas to better insure that populations of commercial fish remain at sustainable levels.

Click here to view a slide presentation of fascinating deep sea creatures.

Read article in Montreal Gazette. Photos by HANDOUT, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Bottom Trawling: ROV used to study effects in California's soft sediment

Clear-cutting the Amazon that denudes acres of vital rain forest; strip mining that gouges deep into the hillside with discarded rubble filling valleys and streams - these are some of the industrial harvesting techniques that have a dubious if not villainous reputation with many conservationists and environmental scientists. In the oceans, bottom trawling has a similar reputation.

The technique of bottom trawling involves large nets that scrape along the ocean floor, catching bottom-dwelling fish and other animals like shrimp. The drawbacks to this technique are two-fold: there can be a tremendous amount of unwanted animals caught, known as bycatch, and the scouring motion can be very destructive to the ocean bottom, much like clear cutting and strip mining, leaving behind crumbled reef structures that took decades to build - a marine ecosystem totally disrupted, its recovery in question.

But a more prudent use of bottom trawling in soft, sandy bottom areas may be proved viable. At least that is the hope of fishermen along the Central California coast who are watching the ongoing efforts of researchers from the California State University Monterey Bay in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy. They are conducting a three-year study to determine the long-term effect of bottom trawling on the soft sediment that makes up 70 percent of the Continental shelf along California.

In an area of 3.8 million acres that is currently listed as an "essential fish habitat" through an arrangement with the Nature Conservancy and the Pacific Fishery Management Council, tests are being conducted where a portion of the sea floor is bottom trawled and then 2 weeks later an ROV does a fly-over to survey conditions, followed by a 6-month and one-year checkup. The use of the ROV provides a better picture of how the ocean floor is recovering and to document what interactions are taking place, compared to other sampling techniques.

“An ROV allows us to have our eyes underwater, looking at everything that’s going on.” said CSUMB professor James Lindholm said.

This research is confined to soft-sediment environments and Lindholm makes no projections as to what the final analysis and results, which are years away, will show. “There’s just a handful of people doing trawl-related research worldwide and outside of really charismatic habitats, we don’t know very much,” said Lindholm. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s to not make any judgment based on what we see live when we’re flying over the bottom.”

But local fishermen are hoping that the research could help fisheries regulators develop management techniques that would allow limited bottom trawling in very specific areas. “Fishermen have always said that grounds that are trawled are better fishing than non-trawled grounds — a lot of the organic nutrients get stirred up and reintroduced to the ecosystem,” said one local fisherman.

Bottom trawling will remain controversial as it has proven itself to be very destructive in many of the ocean environments where it has been used. Even with this ongoing California research, there is still the issue of bycatch - ranging from unwanted bottom creatures to open water animals like turtles and sharks. If the California studies show a sustainable level of recovery in soft sediment areas, there are still other serious ecological issues that must be addressed before regulators should endorse bottom trawling in any form.

Read more about this research in the High Country News.