NOAA, Ocean Explorer | Lophelia II 2009 | Deepwater Coral Expedition: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks

Mission Summary

After nearly a month at sea, 20 dives with the ROV Jason II at 17 sites (including 5 shipwrecks), and an incredible 356 hours of bottom time, we had a great number of successes on this expedition.

September 10 Log: Gulf Penn Wreck

Gulf Penn is a particularly 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: Luz Verde de Estribor!

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: Ewing Bank Here We Come!

Today’s dive is on the Ewing Banks wreck, a peaceful, yet poignant wreck, virtually a shell of her former self. The ship’s shape is clearly delineated by the remnant copper sheathing and keel centerline that runs the length of the vessel.

September 7 Log: On to the Mystery Wreck at 7000 ft!

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.

September 6 Log: Our First Flight with Jason on the Cruise!

At a depth of 632 meters below surface and decent visibility, the Viosca Knoll wreck could be clearly analyzed.

September 5 Log: We’re On Our Way!

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: An Eye in the Water--Imaging the Deep Sea

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. Not only do people get to see these sites and their inhabitants for the first time, no creature has ever seen them in the way we can now--the colors, and tiny details are not visible to any fish or crustacean.

September 3 Log: A Closer Look Reveals an Exciting New Discovery!

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.

September 2 Log: What’s Feeding These Coral Communities?

How do the deep-sea corals get to where they are, perched on narrow slivers of rock on an otherwise muddy bottom (not a great place to live if you’re a filter feeder). Once they get there, where do the corals get the food they need to live?

September 1 Log: Connecting Corals and Chemistry

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.

August 30 Log: Photomosaics – worth a thousand words (at least!)

Photomosaicking is a 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: Diversity of Octocorals

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.

August 27 Log: Careers Onboard A Research Vessel

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: A Hidden World Beneath the Corals

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.

August 25 Log: Managing the Reefs, the Rigs, and the Wrecks

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.

August 24 Log: What’s the big deal about deep-water corals?

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.

August 23 Log: Seeing it First Hand!

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.

August 21 Log: Deep Water Corals 101

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 ).

August 20 Log: Assembling the Research Team

Today, the main science lab on the Ron Brown 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.

Reconnaissance Cruises

The purpose of our reconnaissance cruises is to survey, and identify sites with coral communities suitable for more detailed studies.

Deep Wrecks

This exploration's mission will be to thoroughly document four or five historic deepwater shipwrecks discovered during oil and gas surveys. The objectives during the second (shipwreck) leg of the cruise are designed to meet both archaeological and biological goals.

Exploring the “C’s”: Climate Change and Cold-Water Corals

Let’s take a look at ocean warming and its potential impacts on cold-water corals.

Expedition Education Module

Ocean Explorer Expedition Education Modules (EEM) are designed to reach out in new ways to teachers, students, and the general public, and share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA’s major ocean exploration initiatives with the people around the world.

Mission Plan

This is the second year of a four year study, and the third cruise in a series of four expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico.

Explorers

View photos and and short bios of the explorers participating on the Lophelia II 2009: Deepwater Coral Expedition: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks exploration.

Exploration's Photo and Video Gallery

View photos and videos taken during the Lophelia II 2009: Deepwater Coral Expedition: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks , including high-resolution photos, video, and slideshows.