After four and a half years, the world’s largest deep-sea exploration expedition has identified at least 12 new species of marine life, including a new type of coral.
Funded by the European Union, the just-completed ATLAS Project has conducted approximately 45 research expeditions since June 2016, exploring underwater life in a deep stretch of the Atlantic Ocean.
More than 80 scientists and student volunteers, representing subjects from marine biology to marine chemistry. 13 countries participated in the $ 11 million project.
In addition to new life forms, the team discovered species that lived in previously unfamiliar areas, as well as evidence of the devastating effects of climate change on the world’s oceans.
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Cold water corals and cliffs. The ATLAS Project has carried out 45 research trips since June 2016, exploring a deep stretch of the Atlantic and discovering 12 new species of marine life
Because they are so accessible, we have little information about the deepest parts of the oceans.
‘We have better maps of the lunar surface and Mars than the seabed,’ ATLAS project ocean chemist George Wolff told the BBC
‘So every time you go to the deep ocean, you discover something new – not just individual species but whole ecosystems.’
The first plan was to map the deep Atlantic off the coasts of the USA, Canada and Europe, and go out into international waters.
Finds included molluscs, fish, sponges and a new type of coral growth, Epizoanthus martinsae, which lives on black corals more than 1,300 feet below the surface.
Fish and hydrocorals at Rockall Bank. Other missions took explorers to the Bay of Biscay, Rockall Bank, the Gulf of Cadiz, the Alboran Sea and the Mingulay reef
Sea plants at Reykjanes Ridge Iceland
Instead, the team ended up targeting 12 specific sites in the North Atlantic.
Former Ice Coast destroyer, the Amundsen, has been upgraded as an arctic research vessel and was the operating base for missions in Scotland, Iceland, Spain, England.
The Ice Coast breaker, the Amundsen, was refurbished as an arctic research vessel and provided an operational base.
Their stops included the Bay of Biscay, Rockall Bank, Cadiz Bay, Alboran Sea, Reykjanes Ridge and Mingulay Reef.
Because they studied depths that stressed human divers, underwater robots were used and were able to reach areas that had never been studied before.
Finds included molluscs, fish, sponges and a new type of coral growth, Epizoanthus martinsae, which lives on black corals more than 1,300 feet below the surface.
Microporella funbio, a bryozoan animal – or moss-like animal – was located in an underwater mud volcano off the coast of Spain.
Microporella funbio, a bryozoan – or moss-like – animal was found in an underwater mud volcano off the coast of Spain
The ATLAS team found evidence of rising temperatures, slowing currents and increased ocean acidity, which threatens delicate coral ‘cities’.
In addition, 35 known species were found in previously unseen areas.
In the Azores, ATLAS researchers looked at a range of hydrothermal fins, hot springs on the seabed that are home to complex marine communities.
They are rare places of biological production in the deepest depths but are threatened by global warming.
The ATLAS team found evidence that greenhouse gases contribute to rising temperatures, slowing currents and increased ocean acidity, which threatens fine coral reefs.
Anemones at Rockall Bank. Because they were exploring depths that put pressure on human divers, underwater robots were used
‘Their skeletons are becoming more porous as slightly acidic seawater contaminates and damages their skeleton, Roberts told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
‘It’s almost like osteoporosis. They have become more brutal, more vulnerable to breakage. ‘
He expected that, over the next century, many deep-sea habitats would collapse.
Marine biologist Murray Roberts, who led the project, told the BBC the networks formed by sponges or deep-sea corals formed ‘cities’ in the deep sea.
Fish and sea lambs at Rockall Bank. Researchers warn that as a result of climate change, many deep-sea habitats such as this one will fall.
‘They support life. Fish are so important in using these areas as spawning grounds, ‘he said.
‘If these cities are destroyed by destructive human practices, these fish have no place to spawn and the work of these ecosystems is lost for future generations.
The ATLAS project has already generated 110 peer-reviewed research studies, with nearly 100 expected soon.
A new campaign exploring the South Atlantic is set to begin soon, Science Alert reports, and is expected to end in 2023.