Ocean Networks Canada - seamounts

Pacific Seamounts Expedition 2021

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 18:06:39 +0000

On 15 June 2021, a science team will embark on a two-week expedition to uncover the mysteries of Canada’s deepest seamounts in the Offshore Pacific Marine Protected Area of Interest. This expedition is a partnership among Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ocean Networks Canada, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, and the Council of the Haida Nation, working together to explore and share discoveries from this adventure.

This survey will expand the knowledge from our previous Pacific Seamounts partner expeditions in 2017, 2018, and 2019 where many discoveries were made—including discoveries of new seamounts, new animal distributions and behaviours, and even new species to science! The discoveries from these expeditions will provide information to those involved in the conservation and management of these unique ecosystems in Canadian waters.

Past expeditions focused on Canada’s shallowest seamounts, largest seamounts, and previously fished seamounts, but this year we will dive deeper than ever before to explore what lives on these ancient volcanoes hidden kilometers below the surface (Figure 1 and Figure 8).

Figure 1: The four deep seamounts for the 2021 expedition, three of which are within the Proposed Marine Protected Area offshore Vancouver Island. These seamounts represent the deepest in our waters. The white dots indicate the locations of 62 known seamounts.

What is a Seamount?

Figure 2. Illustration of a seamount.

Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise more than 1,000 meters from the seafloor (Figure 2). They are considered ‘hotspots’ of biological productivity and diversity. Ocean currents meet the slopes of seamounts and carry nutrient-rich water upwards from the depths of the ocean. Close to the sunlit surface, this fast-running nutrient-rich water supports a bloom of life that has cascading ecosystem effects over the entire mountain. Seamounts provide refugium and nursery grounds for many species far from the continental slope. Predators such as birds, fish, and marine mammals use seamounts as feeding grounds. Unique and long-living species, such as cold-water corals and glass sponges, are found in bands along the seamounts slopes and add to the seamount structure complexity, creating habitat for many other species (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Images from Canadian Pacific seamounts of the marine wildlife that call these ancient volcanoes home.

Scientists and Partners

Figure 4. The #PacificSeamounts2019 team on the CCGS John P. Tully with the submersible vehicles used to explore the deep.

Tammy Norgard, Expedition Lead Scientist, Deep Sea Ecology Program Head
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Dr. Cherisse Du Preez, Marine Biologist
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Chelsea Stanley, Fisheries Acoustics Research Technician
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Benjamin Snow, Biologist and BOOTS navigator
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Jackie Detering, Technician and BOOTS navigator
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Andy Vanier, Technician and BOOTS navigator
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Paul Macoun, Boots Technician
Highland Technologies

The partners

The Tools

The expedition will be conducted from a large research vessel, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully (Figure 5). From this research vessel the scientists will use acoustic technology to map the seafloor. Many of the seamounts have never been mapped before and we may even witness a new seamount discovery.

Figure 5. The CCGS John P. Tully at sea deploying BOOTS over a seamount.

The Bathyal Ocean Observation and Televideo System (Figure 6), also known as “BOOTS,” is a submersible drop camera platform containing high-resolution cameras, floodlights, and sensors. Attached to and controlled from aboard the ship, it can dive up to 2,100 meters while delivering real-time imagery and ocean temperature, oxygen level, depth, and current data.

BOOTS was designed and built, in part, at Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Figure 6. BOOTS being deployed for a research dive.

To study the ocean properties around seamounts, the researchers will also be deploying plankton tows (Figure 7) for studying life in the water column, targeted rosette water casts to collect water from set depths for analysis on nutrients, etc., and we will be using the acoustic technology to profile life in the water column. This year the plankton tows will have a very cool tool called an underwater vision profiler that will allow the researchers to see the microscopic animals as they are being sampled with the plankton net.

Figure 7. Plankton nets being deployed to sample life in the water column above the seamounts. The tiny animals are identified and inventoried at sea using microscopes and cameras.

The Area: The Offshore Pacific Area of Interest

In May 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced a new large offshore Area of Interest off the coast of British Columbia, beginning the extensive process of establishing the area as a Marine Protected Area under Canada’s Oceans Act. This area was designated as an Area of Interest based on its unique seafloor features and ecosystems, which include dozens of seamounts and extensive networks of hydrothermal vents.

The Area of Interest has interim protection through the Offshore Pacific Seamount and Vents Closure marine refuge, which was established in October 2017. The marine refuge aims to protect the area’s unique ecosystem and prohibits all bottom-contact commercial and recreational fishing activities.

Figure 8. This map identifies the 62 Offshore Pacific Bioregion seamounts, with coloured circles denoting the 12 seamounts surveyed in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

We hope you will join us on this two-week expedition as we dive deeper than ever before to explore the nature and marine wildlife on British Columbia’s seamounts. We invite you to share in the joy of discovery and the thrill of being a marine biologist by participating in deep-sea exploration as we find and film never-before-seen species, animal behaviours, and ocean scapes. Through our partnerships, we hope to reach communities in British Columbia, across Canada, and around the world, engaging everyone in the process of frontier science and exploration.

Join us by following #PacificSeamounts2021 on social media and tuning into our live dives here.

Expedition 2019: Highlights Story Map

duncanlowrie@uvic.ca — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 19:36:10 +0000

Click here for the full screen interactive experience.

Seamounts expedition discovers 'Coraltropolis' and scratching shark

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 18:25:19 +0000

A year after discovering 'Spongetopia' in 2018, a team from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, with support from partners Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), embarked on the two-week #PacificSeamounts2019 expedition in July that uncovered the mysteries of Canada’s largest underwater volcano—Explorer seamount—at the centre of a potential Offshore Pacific Marine Protected Area.

Discovering and protecting seamounts in the northeast Pacific

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 17:37:55 +0000

Imagine exploring Banff National Park and discovering mountains that no one knew were there. That’s what happened during our recent Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition, in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Oceana Canada, the Haida Nation and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition was a 16-day, 2500 kilometre voyage to explore and map little-known underwater volcanoes with a goal to inform future marine protection measures.

While mapping and exploring these underwater volcanoes, the science team aboard exploration vessel (EV) Nautilus discovered six previously unknown seamounts ⎯along with an extraordinary diversity and abundance of marine life. These discoveries successfully fulfilled the mission’s goal of learning more about these biodiversity hotspots to inform protection measures.

Figure 2. This high-resolution map of Dellwood Seamount was created using EV Nautilus’ multibeam sonar equipment. During the expedition, a total of 13 northeast Pacific seamounts were mapped for the first time. (Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust / Northeast Pacific Seamount Partners).

These underwater mountains rise 1000-3000 metres from the seafloor (Figure 2), and provide a mid-ocean nursery for rare and new-to-science marine life. The steep slopes are home to vast ancient sponge, coral forests and a diversity of colourful fish and invertebrates (Figure 3). The expedition team collected 150 specimens of more than 100 species.

“We’ve gathered potentially previously unknown species of undersea life. This collection of specimens is an impressive set and, coupled with videos of the species in their habitat as well as DNA barcoding, it will be a comprehensive contribution to our understanding of life on seamounts," comments expedition lead scientist, Tammy Norgard, DFO.

Figure 3. The slopes of the Northeast Pacific seamounts are teaming with a dense kaleidoscope of colourful marine life, including octopus, corals, sponges, rockfish, anemones, jellyfish, sea stars, nudibranchs, lobsters, crabs, and whales. (Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust / Northeast Pacific Seamount Partners).

During the expedition, ONC extended its long-term continuous monitoring capacity by deploying a sophisticated instrument package on Dellwood Seamount to track habitat changes over time.

“Gathering data through expeditions like this⎯and through the installation of long-term monitoring platforms⎯ advances the world’s understanding of ocean biodiversity hotspots at a critical time when governments, Indigenous peoples, and conservation groups are working to formally protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.” says Kim Juniper, ONC’s chief scientist.

Figure 4. Over 120 Haida residents attended two “Seamount Viewing Parties” in Old Massett and Skidegate, providing the communities with an opportunity to experience the deep-sea ecosystem within the SGaan Kinghlas Marine Protected Area. (Credit: Northeast Pacific Seamount Partners).

ONC's chief scientist Kim Juniper participated in two well-attended “Seamount Viewing Parties” co-hosted with the Haida Nation in Skidegate and Old Massett (Figure 4). Several of the seamounts explored are located within Haida territory, including SGaan Kinghlas, designated as a marine protected area in 2008 and co-managed by DFO and the Haida Nation. According to Haida oral tradition, this seamount is said to be the home of a supernatural being known as SGaan Kinghlas, which means ‘supernatural being looking outwards’ in the Massett dialect.

“Sharing the wonder of the seamounts through a live video feed brought that reality right into our lives. The excitement that was shown in our communities and the conversations had over the 16-days of the expedition was nothing short of remarkable,” comments kil tlaats ‘gaa Peter Lantin, President of the Haida Nation.

Figure 5. Standing over a metre high, this ancient red tree coral provides a deep-sea refuge for marine life: a pom-pom anemone, boot sponges, rockfish, and a rarely seen decorated warbonnet fish (right). The onboard science team were awestruck by the size and extent of this ancient coral forest on SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount marine protected area (Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust / Northeast Pacific Seamount Partners).

While the information and samples gathered during this successful mission have yet to be analyzed, this expedition highlighted the importance of the SGaan Kinghlas marine protected area (Figure 5). Thanks to the collaborative efforts of government, science, advocacy, and Indigenous stakeholders (Figure 6), these data will inform future decisions on how to manage and protect these important mid-ocean nurseries.

Figure 6. The Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition team aboard EV Nautilus (back row): James Pegg, DFO; Jaasaljuus Yakgujanaas, Haida Nation; expedition lead scientist Tammy Norgard, DFO; Brett Jameson, University of Victoria PhD student; Cherisse du Preez, DFO; Candice St. Germain, DFO; Dana Haggarty, DFO; Katie Gale, DFO; Robert Rangeley, Oceana Canada; (front row) Alessia Ciraolo, Memorial University PhD student; Mandy Leith, ONC; Jennifer Whyte, Oceana Canada. (Credit: Northeast Pacific Seamount Partners).

In addition to the significant scientific discoveries, the expedition also provided a successful outreach opportunity. The livestream was viewed worldwide for a total of 1.02 million minutes, generating 213,000 views. 33,000 users visited the interactive website protectoceans.ca; and on social media, close to 1000 contributors generated a reach of over two million impressions via hashtag #PacificSeamounts2018.

New science mission launched to study unique seamounts in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Using innovative tech to monitor and protect remote seamounts

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:30:00 +0000

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is extending its long-term continuous monitoring capabilities to support new marine protection efforts by deploying a sophisticated instrument package on Dellwood Seamount within the Canadian Offshore Pacific Area of Interest (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Dellwood Seamount is located within the Offshore Pacific Area of Interest, announced in May 2017 as the first step to establishing a large marine protected area under Canada’s Oceans Act. This unique seafloor ecosystem includes 17 named seamounts—with perhaps as many as 40 in total—and a series of hydrothermal vents.

Seamounts are submerged underwater mountains—often volcanic in origin. It is estimated that there are 100,000 seamounts around the globe, and over 30,000 of these are found in the Pacific Ocean. Despite their abundance, less than 0.01% of the world’s seamounts have been explored.

These biodiversity hotspots are home to corals and sponges, providing a mid-ocean nursery to a variety of marine life such as rockfish, sablefish, halibut and tuna, as well as marine mammals, seabirds and sharks.

Increasing our understanding of seamounts—which are critical to ocean health—is an important step on the path towards good marine management. Long-term continuous monitoring provides benchmark data that informs the science behind decision-making on further protection measures, such as the creation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and the development of MPA conservation objectives and management plans.

Dellwood Seamount was selected as the site to deploy ONC’s instrument package—an autonomous mooring—due to its extensive coral and sponge habitats, which were discovered during a Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s survey of the area in 2017 (Figure 2).

Figure 2. In July, ONC will deploy a nine metre autonomous mooring on the slopes of Dellwood Seamount at a depth of 825 metres, where corals and sponges provide a mid-ocean nursery for marine life.

An autonomous mooring is a self-contained, battery-operated string of sensors that gathers continuous data about the water column. These instrument packages can be up to hundreds of meters in height, held up by a float at one end and a bottom anchor at the other. Recent advances in sensors, data storage, battery technologies and robotics have greatly increased the capacity of these moorings to make different types of measurements and even collect samples in remote locations, helping us to understand our changing ocean and how it is impacting marine life (Figure 3).

Figure 3. ONC specially designed and built the Dellwood Seamount autonomous mooring to hold sensors several metres above the seafloor to monitor ocean conditions within the coral and sponge communities.

“It has been a real challenge to design a mooring that is compact and light enough to be maneuvered and precisely positioned by EV Nautilus’ remotely operated vehicle Hercules, yet robust enough to survive a year on this remote seamount in the northeast Pacific,” comments ONC’s chief scientist Kim Juniper. The Dellwood Seamount mooring is designed to hold sensors several metres above the seafloor at a depth of 825 metres, where coral and sponge communities thrive on the slopes of the seamount (Figure 3).

After being deployed in July 2018, the autonomous mooring will be recovered in summer 2019. An acoustic command will trigger the acoustic release to let go of the anchor, and the float will carry the instrument package and its recorded data to the surface where it will be recovered by a ship.

Once recovered, ONC will archive the data from the mooring and make it available for free on Oceans 2.0, ONC’s sophisticated data management and archive system. These data will enable Fisheries and Oceans Canada and other researchers to understand how habitat conditions vary throughout the year and, particularly, how the coral and sponge communities will be affected by future ocean change.

The Dellwood Seamount mooring is one of a small number of other seamount continuous monitoring projects currently underway worldwide, including several seamounts in the Azores Marine Protected Area, and another on the Axial Seamount on the Juan de Fuca Ridge where the US Ocean Observatory Initiative has a cabled observatory.

The Dellwood Seamount mooring is being deployed in July 2018 as part of Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition, an exciting 16-day voyage aboard state-of-the-art exploration vessel (EV) Nautilus to explore remote seamounts. ONC is partnering with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Haida Nation, and Oceana Canada in a collaborative effort to manage and protect these little-understood ocean biodiversity hotspots.

Join us live aboard EV Nautilus by watching the livestream 5-21 July, and learn more about this collaborative expedition: www.protectoceans.ca.

Top Ten Species to on the During Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition

Ocean Networks Canada - seamounts

Pacific Seamounts Expedition 2021

What is a Seamount?

Scientists and Partners

The partners

The Tools

The Area: The Offshore Pacific Area of Interest

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