Azores Deep-sea Research — Cruise iMAR 2022

Summary

iMAR: Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Azores region

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.

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Statistics

Transits

1030 km

Multibeam Bathymetry

4030 km²

Filmed Seabed

29 km

Visited Areas

Stations

Dives

Video Footage Recorded

33 hours

Used Storage

6 Tb

Samples

278

— 87 samples for environmental DNA, 31 samples for nutrient analyses, 30 for microplastic analyses in the water and 102 in sediment, 6 samples for bacteriological, and 6 samples meiofauna analyses.

Highlights

(28/07/2022) We are lucky to have two research vessels exploring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at the same time. While following the @oceanexplorer Voyage to the Ridge, we started the second leg of our Eurofleets+ cruise iMAR - Integrated assessment of the distribution of VMEs along the MAR in the Azores. Onboard of @NIOZ_atSea RV Pelagia, we are mapping deep-sea benthic communities inhabiting unexplored seamounts and ridges in the MAR and adding to the existing knowledge on the environmental drivers that determine the spatial distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity.
(29/07/2022) First day of work of the @Eurofleets+ iMAR 2022 cruise, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Azores. We managed to fulfil today’s schedule with successful sampling with the video system, CTD, multibeam, VMADCP, and TV-guided box-corer. A big thank you to the @NiozatSea crew. The first dive with the video frame came with a surprise, with an impressive aggregation of the octocoral Hemicorallium triocolor on the crest of an unexplored ridge, together with bamboo corals, stylasterids and large fan-shaped sponges.
(30/07/2022) Today, @Eurofleets+ iMAR 2022 cruise, we explored the eastern ridge of the Menez Gwen area and found low diversity and abundance of corals and sponges. The movement of the whip corals denoted high bottom current speeds. We are now heading to an unmapped seamount to verify its existence. It feels like going to Mount Everest to see if it really exists.
(01/08/2022) Day 3 of @eurofleets iMAR cruise 2022, with a new #deepsea area mapped in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, west of Beta seamount. The multibeam surveys completed during the night showed Best West is much shallower and with more structures than the previous maps showed. It revealed a 4 km long summit shallower than 1000 m and added a new area to our list of exploration targets. Looking forward to sharing the data with the Portuguese Hydrographic Institue @MarinhaPT and contributing to @seabed2030.
(03/08/2022) Day 5 of the @eurofleets iMAR cruise 2022 left us on a high after discovering a massive garden of Narella corals on the SE side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge within the Azores. We'll need artificial intelligence algorithms to get all these corals annotated.
(04/08/2022) The @eurofleets iMAR cruise 2022 came to an end after exploring 29km of seafloor along the MAR with the @NIOZatSea video system. We also collected 278 samples to be analysed within @iAtlanticEU.