Searching for New Species in the South Sandwich Islands

The closest human beings to the Research Vessel Falkor (too) during this expedition might be orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station. The South Sandwich Islands is one of the most remote island chains in the world. It is a volcanic archipelago created by the South American Plate subducting beneath the South Sandwich Plate. Situated between the Southern and Atlantic Oceans, these islands are part of a rich mosaic of tectonic forces that create geologic features such as hadal zone trenches, underwater volcanoes, and spreading centers. These features facilitate high levels of endemism, supporting species found nowhere else.

This Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census Flagship Expedition will be led by Dr. Michelle Taylor, president of the Deep-Sea Biology Society and Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex; her team will locate and describe new species. Dr. Jenny Gales will lead GoSouth, a collaboration between the University of Plymouth, GEOMAR, and the British Antarctic Survey; her team will survey volcanic flanks with ROV SuBastian to determine the impacts of volcanism and earthquake activity on marine ecosystems. The science teams will also seek out deep-sea volcanoes and venture into the 8000-meter-deep South Sandwich Trench, the most geographically isolated and coldest trench on Earth.

Climate Connections at the Ice-Sea Interface

In austral summer, the Antarctic sea ice recedes, allowing scientists to map and study parts of the seafloor typically covered in ice. But the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula in the Bellingshausen Sea in Antarctica have not been well mapped and studied. It’s not easy to get there, after all. Drs. Patricia Esquete from the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and Aleksandr Montelli from the University College London, UK, will travel to this remote region with an international team of scientists to create the first high-resolution maps of this region and study the animals that dwell here. 

Canyons, Vents, and Seeps of the Chile Margin

On May 2, 2008, Chile’s Chaitén volcano erupted without warning, spewing ash 30 kilometers into the air.  This ash blanketed the landscape, and heavy rain in the following days triggered devastating volcanic mudflows that flowed down mountainsides and into the fjords below. The nearby town of Chaitén evacuated as the volcano completely transformed the surrounding landscape. While the destruction was easy to observe on land, scientists have not yet closely examined the impacts the eruption had on the surrounding ocean environments. Dr. Sebastian Watt of the University of Birmingham, UK, will lead an international team to study the underwater effects of the Chaitén eruption from the research vessel Falkor (too). Understanding the imprint of the Chaitén eruption in the marine environment will also help unlock deeper-time records of major volcanic eruptions in the region, allowing scientists to reconstruct volcanic behavior in Southern Chile over geologic time. 

Fire and Ice: Volcanic and Glacial Interactions

On May 2, 2008, Chile’s Chaitén volcano erupted without warning, spewing ash 30 kilometers into the air.  This ash blanketed the landscape, and heavy rain in the following days triggered devastating volcanic mudflows that flowed down mountainsides and into the fjords below. The nearby town of Chaitén evacuated as the volcano completely transformed the surrounding landscape. While the destruction was easy to observe on land, scientists have not yet closely examined the impacts the eruption had on the surrounding ocean environments. Dr. Sebastian Watt of the University of Birmingham, UK, will lead an international team to study the underwater effects of the Chaitén eruption from the research vessel Falkor (too). Understanding the imprint of the Chaitén eruption in the marine environment will also help unlock deeper-time records of major volcanic eruptions in the region, allowing scientists to reconstruct volcanic behavior in Southern Chile over geologic time. 

High Seas and Seamounts of the Nazca Ridge

8 July - 9 August 2024 #NazcaHighSeas Lush forests of deep-sea corals and sponges host animals and organisms that defy imagination. Many endangered or threatened species like sea turtles, blue whales, and sharks travel here to feed on the abundant nutrients upwelling from the deep. The 8000-meter-deep Atacama Trench, the Southeast Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zone, … Continued

In Search of Hydrothermal Lost Cities

Expedition dates: March 3 – April 11, 2023 On its inaugural expedition, Falkor (too) will head to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with Chief Scientist Dr. David Butterfield from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory - University of Washington, and his team to search for hydrothermal lost cities. In 2000, scientists found a hydrothermal vent system on … Continued

Designing the Future 2

Dr. Phillips and his team are looking to create a paradigm shift in how researchers perform midwater exploration. The ‘twilight’, or mesopelagic zone, is receiving renewed interest from the oceanographic community. There are numerous undescribed species dwelling in the pelagic zone beneath the limits of technical SCUBA diving, and improved survey methods have highlighted the biomass that exists in the twilight zone and beyond.

Biodiverse Borderlands

Mineral-Rich Habitats of Southern California The deep sea hosts minerals that contain high quantities of elements that are valuable for human societies. Countries around the world are preparing to develop extractive practices for deep-sea minerals, and baseline biological data are needed to further assess the life that may dwell on or around minerals in different … Continued

Discovering Deep-Sea Corals of the Phoenix Islands 2

In June, Falkor will return to the Phoenix Islands under Chief Scientist Randi Rotjan. The scientific objectives include continuing to investigate deep-sea microbes’ therapeutic potential; examining how ancient cold water corals survive predation by corallivores; and enquiring into the equator’s effect on the ecology of deep coral and sponge communities.