Deep Wonders of Trinidad and Tobago

Allyuh Know Wah Down Dey?

Situated on the South American continental shelf and in a tectonically active area known as the Barbados accretionary prism, the islands’ geologic setting is ideal for supporting numerous deep-sea ecosystems. Between 30 and 200 meters (about 100 to 500 feet) in tropical and subtropical oceans, the waters serve as a “twilight” transition between shallow, brightly lit coral reefs and the deep sea. These twilight waters likely support numerous mesophotic coral and sponge reefs — ecosystems that are inaccessible to scuba divers and therefore difficult to observe and study without deep-sea cameras.

The handful of scientific surveys conducted with remotely operated vehicles in Trinbagonian waters revealed chemosynthetic methane seeps. Recent studies have documented 451 species in the deep sea near the islands. However, the science team believe this number is far higher than that; they suspect the actual number to be over 1600.

The Barbados accretionary prism is where the Atlantic plate is pushed beneath the Caribbean plate in a geologic process known as subduction. This provides ideal conditions for chemosynthetic environments. An accretionary prism forms when marine sediment is scraped upwards off the seafloor as one tectonic plate subducts beneath another. The sediment piles up, creating large mounds. Fissures and cracks in the Earth’s surface expose long-buried hydrocarbons, such as methane and petroleum. These hydrocarbons, especially methane, support ecosystems known as cold or methane seeps.

At these seeps, animals thrive on the chemical energy generated by methane rather than sunlight. 

Dr. Amon and the team will conduct a comprehensive survey of Trinidad and Tobago’s deep sea, seeking out these habitats and more. Their survey will include creating high-resolution maps, gathering heatflow, as well as biological and chemical data, and identifying and characterizing mesophotic and deep-sea ecosystems. Additionally, they will quantify human impacts, including microplastics, marine debris, and chemical contaminants. They are focused on several areas identified as potential marine protected areas and on collecting baseline data needed to steward the island nation’s marine resources and heritage. 

Tools for revealing D Deep Wonders

To gather the data necessary for designating new marine protected areas and other stewardship mechanisms, the team will rely on the state-of-the-art technology available on R/V Falkor (too), including the ship’s multibeam and ROV SuBastian. Since these resources are expensive to maintain and operate, limiting most nations’ access to deep-sea imagery and data, the team is also testing low-cost, easy-to-use tools for deep-sea research.

This includes DORIS, a lander system developed in partnership between the Ocean Discovery League and Blue Robotics, with funding from NOAA’s Ocean Technology Transition program. The device contains a camera, lighting modules, and temperature and depth sensors. DORIS has a modular design, allowing scientists to add sensors and equipment, making it adaptable to researchers’ needs. Each base system costs less than $10,000 (U.S.), whereas an ROV or AUV can cost millions of dollars. 

In addition to specimen collection and biodiversity assessment, the team will evaluate a novel cryopreservation approach for marine invertebrate tissues. Cryopreservation is the process of preserving living cells and tissues at ultra-low temperatures, allowing biological material to remain viable for future research. Traditional cryopreservation methods are less feasible in field-based research because they require specialized equipment, substantial infrastructure, and careful handling to address safety concerns. 

If successful, this new method could significantly improve the accessibility of cryopreservation by reducing equipment requirements, lowering costs, and simplifying sample handling. The development of reliable, low-temperature cryopreservation techniques would enhance efforts to create living biobanks of marine biodiversity, supporting conservation, restoration, and emerging biotechnology applications while enabling long-term preservation of valuable biological resources collected during research expeditions. 

Artist-at-Sea Marco Barotti

From the artist’s website

Marco Barotti is a media artist. After music studies at the Siena Jazz Academy, he began merging sound with visual art. His work is driven by a desire to invent an artistic language in which a fictional post-futurist era is expressed through kinetic sound interventions in natural and urban environments. His installations merge audio technology, consumer objects, waste and natural materials into moving sculptures triggered entirely by sound. The primary focus of his work is to create a “tech ecosystem” that plays with resemblances to animals and plants. These artworks serve as a metaphor for the anthropogenic impact on the planet and aim to make people aware of environmental and social issues.

Barotti was awarded the Art & Science Breakthrough of the Year by Falling Walls, received an Honorary Mention from the S+T+ARTS Prize, and won the NTU Global Digital Art Prize, the Tesla Award, and the Delux Colour Award.

His work has been exhibited internationally at Gwangju Biennale (Gwangju), Ars Electronica (Linz), Saatchi Gallery (London), Tokyo Biennale, (Tokyo), Science Gallery (Melbourne), New Media Gallery (Vancouver) Futurium (Berlin), Fact (Liverpool), Wro Art Center (Wroclaw), Busan Biennale, (Busan), Picknick (Seoul), Isea (Montreal), ARCAM Architecture Center (Amsterdam), silent green (Berlin), Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven), NTU (Singapore), Stuck, (Leuven), Kikkk Festival (Namur), Zer01ne, (Seoul), Emaf (Osnabrück), Lisboa Soa (Lisbon), La Boral, (Gijón), New Holland Island and Sevcableport (St Petersburg) and many more.