The iMAR cruises aimed to evaluate the role of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in shaping the latitudinal and trans-Atlantic patterns in deep-sea biogeography, connectivity and spatial distribution patterns of deep-sea megafauna. Additionally, the cruise aimed to (i) map and characterize deep-sea coral and sponge communities inhabiting unexplored seamounts and ridges in the MAR around the Azores; (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO’s Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem definition; (iii) add to the existing knowledge on the environmental drivers that determine the spatial distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the MAR; and finally (iv) determine the condition of benthic communities by looking at evidence of fishing damage to fauna, presence of lost fishing gear and marine litter.

The iMAR_2022 cruise “The Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in the Azores region” took place aboard the Research Vessel Pelagia of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research between July 28th and August 4th 2022. The expedition coded 64PE506 was the second leg of the iMAR cruise funded by the SEA OCEANS program of Eurofleets+ and the H2020 European project iAtlantic. It was led by the University of the Azores (Portugal) in collaboration with the Hydrographic Institute and University of Porto (Portugal), the University of Aarhus (Denmark), the National Oceanography Center (United Kingdom), GEOMAR (Germany), the University Museum of Bergen (Norway), the PP Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (Russia), and the University of Vale do Itajaí (Brazil). We explored under-visited portions of the southern MAR in the Azores region and associated ridges and seamounts between 300 and 1,200 m depth.