Large colonies of bubblegum corals were observed on the walls of Corsair Canyon in 2014. Scientists have been seeing similar corals in early dives in 2017. Image courtesy of 2014 Bigelow-ROPOS US-Canada Gulf of Maine Collaboration.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. and Canadian researchers are on a two week expedition exploring canyon and slope habitats off the Northeast Shelf and in the Gulf of Maine utilizing a remotely operated vehicle.
ROPOS, short for Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Sciene, will study known or suspected deep-water coral habitats.
The expedition aboard the NOAA vessel Henry B. Bigelow will also map the sea floor where data is missing or incomplete, explore and photograph new areas and collect sample of corals and other biological life.
NOAA Fisheries Martha Nizinski says she is excited to continue the work which was started in 2014 and anticipates another successful effort.
In 2014, several new areas where corals and other organisms are abundant were discovered.
Nizinski says some of these corals are very colorful which surprises many people given that they are located in total darkness in deep offshore waters.
Researchers will use coral samples collected to study the connectivity between populations in the western Atlantic canyons and the Gulf of Maine. They are also collecting samples of cephalopods around corals and sponges.
The vessel returns to its homeport of Newport, RI on June 22.
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