NOAA ships provide platforms for operations at sea - the Nancy Foster for the 20 Pathways cruises, and the Ronald H. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, also known as BOEM and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, or OER. The deepwater canyon exploration is funded by two organizations: the U.S. Results from documenting these unique habitats and their inhabitants could help guide future uses for and protection of these ocean resources, Ross says. Their objectives include locating cold seeps and other vulnerable habitats, describing the canyons, investigating the biology and ecology of different types of seafloor communities, and identifying archeological sites - including historic shipwrecks. This is real science conducted in real time by a multidisciplinary, international team of researchers who are fueled by intellectual curiosity and determined to chart new pathways in ocean science. The expedition, called Deepwater Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss, sounds like a science fiction adventure tale. Ross, Sandra Brooke, a coral researcher from Florida State University, and Rod Mather, who teaches marine history and underwater archeology at the University of Rhode Island, are leading an effort to unlock the mysteries within and adjacent to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean’s Baltimore and Norfolk deepwater canyons off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. This spring, Ross and colleagues embark on the final voyage of an ambitious four-year project designed to fill at least part of that knowledge void. In fact, only a small percent of this vast frontier has been scientifically documented and described, adds Ross, who has been studying the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico deep-sea environments for more than three decades. Yet, we still have a lot to learn about what makes it tick, says Steve Ross, marine biologist at University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science. The Kraken II ROV, launched from the Nancy Foster acts as surrogate eyes during the Pathways to the Abyss cruise.
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