Gulf of Alaska Seamounts 2019
Past Expedition
Overview
From July 21 – August 3, 2019, a multi-disciplinary and international team of scientists and media personnel sailed from Seward, Alaska, to the Gulf of Alaska Seamounts region onboard R/V Sikuliaq. This expedition employed an ecosystem perspective to investigate microbial communities in seawater and seafloor environments surrounding the seamounts; water column (planktonic) organisms; and invertebrate and fish benthic (seafloor) communities on and off the seamounts. The team also conducted observations of seabirds and marine mammals. This work will help us better understand the diversity of marine life in this underexplored region of economic importance that is also poised to undergo unprecedented change.
Features
Wait… the vehicle is settled… extend the arm… suction is on… slowly now… here he goes… HE IS IN!!!
August 4, 2019
This cruise we are using two different types of stratified plankton net systems to cover the large size range of zooplankton that exist in the ocean.
August 3, 2019
I’ve been a scientist for a pretty long time now, and one of the things I’ve learned over the years is that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know.
August 3, 2019
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Dhugal Lindsay introduces a couple of animals encountered while diving the remotely operated vehicle Global Explorer through the ocean's midwater zone during the expedition.
August 2, 2019
When you imagine the ocean, you might picture a tropical paradise like Hawaii with deep, clear blue waters – but most of the ocean doesn’t look like that at all! Those clear waters are actually a result of nutrient depletion that limits the growth of phytoplankton, the “plants” of the sea.
August 1, 2019
If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be on a boat in the Gulf of Alaska, working with scientists in July, diving at over a mile deep - I would have said “YA, RIGHT… I WISH”. Well, wishes come true now and then.
July 31, 2019
Like plants on land, sunlight-powered phytoplankton in the sea produce oxygen as a byproduct of their photosynthetic metabolism. And, like animals on land, animals and other heterotrophs in the sea respire that oxygen by breathing.
July 30, 2019
Ahoy from the bird group (population on board: 1) aboard the R/V Sikuliaq! I’m Callie, the seabird observer on board.
July 29, 2019
It’s 11 o’clock at night, the sea is calm, the sky is foggy, but a beautiful shade of deep blue. Donned with hardhats and lifejackets, two scientists hold tag lags securing the box corer as the bosun and marine science tech guide the yellow frame off the deck and out over the water. We pull off the tag lines and watch the corer sink into the depths of the ocean. It’s our first station and our first deployment of the box corer, a device that samples sediment from the deep ocean.
July 27, 2019
At first the Sikuliaq seemed like a daunting vessel to be on, what with all the cranes and moving parts that can knock you overboard, especially for my first time every being on a boat this large.
July 26, 2019
As the remotely operated vehicle Global Explorer sinks through the water column on its way to explore the Gulf of Alaska Seamounts, it passes through the sunlit zone where phytoplankton grow before heading into the inky darkness of the deep sea.
July 26, 2019
After what seems like a long time of preparing and transiting, but what in reality were only a couple days, we are finally taking our first samples.
July 25, 2019
When I was asked if I wanted to join on another ROV cruise, I jumped on the chance.
July 24, 2019
One of the most important things when being on a research vessel – or any vessel – is safety.
July 23, 2019
The beginning of a research cruise is like living in a beehive. A group of people, many of whom have not met before, meet together on a research vessel that many have not used before.
July 21, 2019
The benthic – or seafloor - organisms – are the element that have garnered probably among the most scientific interest and curiosity about seamounts. The typically hard substrate of the seamount tops support a unique and highly diverse fauna.
July 19, 2019
As best we can tell, life on Earth originated in the oceans and evolved as microscopic bacteria, algae, protists, and viruses. Billions of years later, microbes are still running the show in the world’s seas.
July 19, 2019
Learn more about plans to explore the Gulf of Alaska, which is part of the northern-most portion of the north Pacific and is a productive system well known for its iconic species and extensive fisheries that supply US and international markets with high-quality seafood. The continental shelf system of the Gulf of Alaska is relatively well known, yet much less is understood about the deep portion of the Gulf.
July 19, 2019
In the northern Gulf of Alaska, as with all sub-arctic and Arctic regions, seabird communities and abundance change dramatically with the seasons. During spring, many birds migrate through and species richness is highest, with up to 56 species recorded during offshore surveys.
July 19, 2019
Some areas of the Gulf of Alaska have been studied for zooplankton, the small water column drifting organisms that make up an essential part of the marine food chain, for decades. However, collections have generally been confined to the continental shelf area of the Gulf of Alaska (200 meters, maximum depth).
July 9, 2019
Multimedia
Featured multimedia assets associated with this project.
Education
Our Learn & Discover page provides the best of what the NOAA Ocean Exploration website has to offer to support educators in the classroom during this expedition. Each theme page includes expedition features, lessons, multimedia, career information, and associated past expeditions. Below are related top education themes for this expedition.
Meet the Exploration Team
Learn more about the team members and their contributions to this project.
ROV Technician - Oceaneering
Undergraduate Student – College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Media Team Leader, Education Liason - Microcosm
ROV Pilot/Technician - Oceaneering
Graduate student - University of Alaska Fairbanks
Professor in Oceanography - University of Alaska Fairbanks