Lophelia II 2009: Deepwater Coral Expedition: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks
August 19 - September 12, 2009
A close-up of the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa from the Mississippi Canyon 751 site at approximately 450 m depth. This image was taken with the SeaEye Falcon DR ROV during the first cruise of this program in September 2008. Click image for larger view and image credit.
This is the third cruise in a four-year project sponsored by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) and the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS), a division of the Department of the Interior. The overall goal of this project is to explore new areas of the Gulf of Mexico in search of coral communities; in doing so, we can develop the tools to better predict the occurrence of corals and to understand why they occur where they do. This effort begins long before we go to sea, with a group of scientists poring over industry 3-D seismic data and bathymetry providing information on the structure and composition of the sea-floor. When a number of likely sites are chosen, we survey these "high-probability" sites with different tools to gather higher-resolution bathymetry data and to get our first real look at the sea floor. As we embark on this cruise, we have already discovered a handful of new coral sites, and we hope to discover even more. In addition to mapping out coral distribution, we will be collecting the data necessary to fully describe the habitats of the corals, the communities associated with them, and the levels of genetic connectivity among the coral communities. We will also be collecting live corals, and transporting them back to the laboratory to conduct experiments, and to better understand the factors controlling their distribution. During the second part of the cruise, we will also be surveying shipwrecks in order to examine the coral communities in the wrecks, as well as to describe and preserve these potentially historic sites. If we can accomplish these ambitious goals, we will be well on our way to understanding the cold-water corals of the Gulf of Mexico.
You can access the Ocean Explorer Lophelia II 2009 News Feed here:
Updates & Logs
Click images or links below for detailed mission logs and updates.
September 10 Log Gulf Penn is an interesting wreck from the point of view of the biology. As a tanker that was sunk by a German U-boat during WWII, it has now become a large reef for a variety of corals, particularly Lophelia. 
September 9 Log Excitement, anticipation, anxiety... From the moment we came in from the Ewing Bank dive, we began to plan and strategize for the final and most complex recovery we had scheduled.
September 8 Log Today’s dive is on the Ewing Banks wreck, a peaceful, yet poignant wreck. The ship’s shape is delineated by the remnant copper sheathing and keel centerline that runs the length of the vessel.
September 7 Log Our mission for the day was to explore an unidentified shipwreck actually sitting in 7,400 feet of water. The site represents the deepest historic shipwreck ever discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. 
Includes Video
September 6 Log At a depth of 632 meters below surface and decent visibility, the l wreck could be clearly analyzed. Includes Video
September 5 Log The research vessel Ronald H. Brown waiting to exchange crews in deeper water off the coast. We left the dock at Venice, Louisiana at 6 a.m. aboard the crew transport, Acadiana after spending the night at the marina.
September 4 Log The habitat of deep sea corals has very little light other that what Jason can carry with it. So images brought back from this realm are genuinely unique.
September 3 Log Details about a newly discovered Lophelia reef structure in the Viosca Knoll region of the Gulf of Mexico. You will note live coral growth on top of dead coral structure. Includes Videos
September 2 Log How do the deep-sea corals get to where they are? Where do the corals get the food? These are the questions we're trying to find answers for ... Includes Video
September 1 Log Cold-water stony corals, such as Lophelia pertusa, use a form of calcium carbonate called aragonite (think of a substance similar to chalk) to make their skeletons.
August 31 Log On the Home Stretch of Our First Leg: At every site visited, we have found and collected at least a few deep-sea corals, and at some locations we have hit the jackpot. Includes Videos
August 30 Log Photomosaicking is great way to initially survey a community; it is a non-destructive technique that lets us identify first-order patterns of animal distributions and biological associations.
August 28 Log Octocorals are most commonly known as the large colorful sea-fans that decorate the pages of exotic travel magazines, but they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and they occur at great depths. Includes Video
August 27 Log Maintaining a world-class vessel with such a diverse mission requires a highly skilled and well-trained crew consisting of a cadre of talented individuals.
August 26 Log Coral reefs are homes to fish and invertebrates that we can see. Also hidden within the complex matrix of living reefs reside many small animals that use the coral framework for habitat. Includes Video
August 25 Log The Gulf of Mexico has many active natural oil and gas seafloor seeps. The same deep, organic-rich formations of rock from which oil companies drill and produce hydrocarbons are also “feeding” these seafloor seeps. Includes Video
August 24 Log Cold-water corals provide critical if not essential habitats that support a diversity of species, including highly-intimate relationships we are only beginning to understand. Includes Videos
August 23 Log Today scientists spent seven or eight hours in a frenzy of photographing, describing, documenting, identifying, preserving and cataloging every single bit of living or non-living specimen retrieved from the depths. Includes Videos
August 21 Log See all of the major varieties of deep-sea corals, including stony corals (Scleractinia), such as Lophelia pertusa; soft corals (Octocorallia), including gorgonian sea fans and bamboo corals; black corals (Antipatharia) and hydrocorals (Stylasteridae). Includes Video
August 20 Log The main science lab on the Ron Brown ship is bustling with activity as the science team prepares for the first Jason dive, scheduled for just before sunset. No one has seen our first dive site before
