Azores Deep-sea Research — Cruise Blue Azores 2018

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ADSR-CRUISE-3

Blue Azores 2018

Blue Azores Program: Expedition 2018

The main objective of the cruise was to map deep-sea biodiversity and identify Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) using the ROV Luso, namely to (i) map benthic communities inhabiting unexplored seamounts, (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO VME definition; and (iii) determine distribution patterns of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores. The results of this cruise contributed to identify the environmental drivers that determine the spatial distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region, evaluating at the same time the role played by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as a barrier between the western and the eastern Atlantic. It will also provide valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems.

The Blue Azores 2018 cruise was a partnership between the Blue Azores Program of the Oceano Azul Foundation, in cooperation with the Waitt Foundation, and in the collaboration with National Geographic, the EU ATLAS project, the FRCT MapGES project, and the Regional Government of the Azores. The Blue Azores 2018 expedition aimed to visit some unexplored seamount of the Azores using the Portuguese ROV Luso and the vessel NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho.

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Statistics

Transits

1540 km

Multibeam Bathymetry

21500 km²

Filmed Seabed

11 km

Visited Areas

Stations

Dives

Video Footage Recorded

58 hours

Used Storage

5.86 Tb

Samples

118

— Several samples were collected with the ROV Luso, namely 79 biological samples for taxonomy and genetic analyses, 23 geological samples, and 16 water samples for edna, nutrients POM and total alkalinity analyses.

Highlights

A new hydrothermal vent field was discovered, at 570 m depth, on the slopes of Gigante, a seamount on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in the Azores. This vent differs considerably from other known hydrothermal fields along the MAR in terms of fluid chemistry with dominance of hydrogen and iron, and low temperature.
We also discovered the densest and near-natural octocoral garden composed of large red and white colonies of bubble gum coral (Paragorgia johnsoni Gray, 1862) at 545–595 m depth, on the slopes of a small ridge East of Gigante seamount. This newly discovered octocoral garden is a good candidate for protection since it fits many of the FAO criteria that define what constitutes a VME.
We mapped the deep-sea benthic communities inhabiting previously unexplored seamounts (Gigante, 127 and Eastern ridge) and collected 118 biological, geological and water samples for taxonomy, genetic, eDNA and other studies.
We discovered, at least, 14 different benthic habitats or communities, potentially new species and biotopes that are still being analysed and described. Many biotopes may fit the criteria for defining indicators of VME.
We performed a total of 13 ROV dives on the Gigante seamount complex and on the slopes of Pico and São Jorge island, summing up 58 hours of bottom time.
More than 21,500 km² of new multibeam bathymetry data was collected by the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH) during their 3 months expedition to the Azores.