The “Ocean Census Arctic Deep” expedition aims to redefine our understanding of the biodiversity of the deepest marine habitats of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic remains one of the least explored regions on Earth. In particular, the Arctic Ocean’s deep-sea region has an average depth of over 1,000 meters, with much of its seafloor difficult to explore at high latitudes. However, this vast, deep and cold environment is home to biodiverse habitats full of countless species and ecosystems, many of which are still undiscovered or poorly explored by science.
Led by an alliance between the Nippon Foundation, Nekton and Ocean Census, as well as UiT (The Arctic University of Norway) and REV Ocean, the expedition brings together a multidisciplinary team of 36 scientists and media experts from 15 leading academic institutions to make new discoveries. They will explore and document this unexplored region. The aim of the mission is to discover new marine species in the Arctic and the Barents Sea.
Prof. Alex Rogers, Science Director at Ocean Census explains: “Ocean Census offers a rare opportunity to delve into some of the most extreme and unknown habitats on Earth. From hydrothermal vents, deep-sea plains and mid-ocean ridges to seamounts. These remarkable environments harbor a wealth of undiscovered life forms. We expect to discover hundreds of new species, from sponges to corals, sea anemones, snails, small crustaceans and animals that feed on chemical energy, such as bearded worms.”
The team started the expedition on May 3, 2024. The plan is to use REV Ocean’s state-of-the-art remotely operated deep submersible Aurora and skilled support team to enable groundbreaking scientific exploration aboard the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research’s FS “Kronprins Haakon” until May 31, 2024.
The Aurora submersible is suitable for the most demanding tasks, is highly customizable and can be fitted with additional scientific equipment if required. The Aurora weighs in at 4,250 kilos (9,300 lb).
The research area covers a wide range of deep-sea habitats, including the Knipovich Ridge, the Dumshaff Abyssal Plain, the Jøtul vent field, the 46-kilometer-long Svyatogor Ridge, the Alta seamount and the Molløy Deep, at 5,550 meters the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean, some of which are being targeted for deep-sea mining.
Who is REV Ocean
REV Ocean has an ambitious but simple goal: “To ensure a healthy ocean”. The company was founded on July 20, 2017 and is financed by Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Røkke. REV Ocean will enable a new generation of solutions and raise awareness of the global impact on the marine environment. “We need to improve our understanding of the ocean, align key stakeholders from politics, research, business and civil society with this understanding and translate this knowledge into concrete solutions.”
Nina Jensen, CEO of REV Ocean and former Managing Director of WWF Norway: “We are delighted to support UiT and Ocean Census on the Extreme24 expedition to the Arctic and the Barents Sea. This is a unique opportunity to explore some of the most remote and unknown regions of our planet while making the most of the Aurora ROV”.
Following the expedition, Ocean Census and the UiT will host a workshop at their university laboratories in Tromsø in October 2024 to showcase the species discovery using the collected specimens.
The resulting collection will be housed at Tromsø’s Arctic University Museum and will be a valuable resource for future research efforts.
Heiner Kubny, Polarjournal
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