Moderators: Mike Vecchione, NOAA/NMFS & Smithsonian NMNH Nicole - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Moderators: Mike Vecchione, NOAA/NMFS & Smithsonian NMNH Nicole Raineault, Ocean Exploration Trust Participants: Kelly Benoit-Bird, MBARI Brian Connon, USM Alice Doyle, UNOLS Chris German, WHOI Donglai Gong, VIMS Russ Hopcroft, UAF Eric King, SOI Wade Ladner, NOO Tracy Sutton, NOVA SEU

Habitat Area (km2) % of ocean floor Proportion investigated References Deep water (pelagic) 1,000,000,000 km3 73% of water in oceans <<0.0001% Herring, 2002; Vecchione pers. Comm. Deep seafloor 326,000,000 km2 100% 0.0001% Tyler, 2003 Abyssal plains 244,360,000 km2 75% <1% Gerlach, 1994 Continental margin (150 to 3500 m depth) 40,000,000 km2 11% minimal

• L. Menot, unpublished data

Ridges 55,000 km long. 30,000,000 km2 (young crest <1 myr) 9.20% 10% Area: German, estimated from German et al., 2004. Exploration: Baker & German, 2004 Seamounts 8,500,000 km2 2.6% 0.25 – 0.28 % (250-280 seamounts sampled of

• ca. 100,000)

Seamounts Online, 2009 http://seamounts.sdsc.edu Hadal zone 37 trenches (area not estimated) 1% minimal Blankenship and Williams, in press Canyons 448 canyons with a total estimated lenght

• f 25000 km. Area

unknown. unknown minimal Estimated from Shepard & Dill, 1966 and GEBCO OMZ (benthic) 1,148,000 km2 0.35% <1% Helly & Levin, 2004 Cold-water coral reefs estimated 280,000 km2 0.08% minimal UNEP, http://www.unep.org/cold_water_reefs/comparison.htm Hydrothermal vents

• Approx. 2000 vents.

Area unknown. unknown 10% (200 known vents

• f ca.2000)

German et al., 2004 Cold seeps 10,000 km2 0.003% 2% Cordes, pers. comm. Whale falls ~ 35 km2 (690,000 whale falls with ca. 50 m2 per fall) 0.00001% 0.005% (~30 out of 690,000 estimated sulfide-rich whale falls) Smith and Baco, 2003; Smith, 2006; Treude et al., 2009

Habitat Area (km2) % of ocean floor Proportion investigated References Deep water (pelagic) 1,000,000,000 km3 73% of water in oceans <<0.0001% Herring, 2002; Vecchione pers. Comm. Deep seafloor 326,000,000 km2 100% 0.0001% Tyler, 2003 Abyssal plains 244,360,000 km2 75% <1% Gerlach, 1994 Continental margin (150 to 3500 m depth) 40,000,000 km2 11% minimal

• L. Menot, unpublished data

Ridges 55,000 km long. 30,000,000 km2 (young crest <1 myr) 9.20% 10% Area: German, estimated from German et al., 2004. Exploration: Baker & German, 2004 Seamounts 8,500,000 km2 2.6% 0.25 – 0.28 % (250-280 seamounts sampled of

• ca. 100,000)

Seamounts Online, 2009 http://seamounts.sdsc.edu Hadal zone 37 trenches (area not estimated) 1% minimal Blankenship and Williams, in press Canyons 448 canyons with a total estimated lenght

• f 25000 km. Area

unknown. unknown minimal Estimated from Shepard & Dill, 1966 and GEBCO OMZ (benthic) 1,148,000 km2 0.35% <1% Helly & Levin, 2004 Cold-water coral reefs estimated 280,000 km2 0.08% minimal UNEP, http://www.unep.org/cold_water_reefs/comparison.htm Hydrothermal vents

• Approx. 2000 vents.

Area unknown. unknown 10% (200 known vents

• f ca.2000)

German et al., 2004 Cold seeps 10,000 km2 0.003% 2% Cordes, pers. comm. Whale falls ~ 35 km2 (690,000 whale falls with ca. 50 m2 per fall) 0.00001% 0.005% (~30 out of 690,000 estimated sulfide-rich whale falls) Smith and Baco, 2003; Smith, 2006; Treude et al., 2009

Habitat Area (km2) % of ocean floor Proportion investigated Deep water (pelagic) 1,000,000,000 km3 73% of water vol <<0.0001% Deep seafloor 326,000,000 km2 100% 0.0001% Abyssal plains 244,360,000 km2 75% <1% Continental margin (150 to 3500 m depth) 40,000,000 km2 11% minimal Ridges 55,000 km long. 30,000,000 km2 (young crest <1 myr) 9.20% 10% Seamounts 8,500,000 km2 2.6% 0.25 – 0.28 %

Exploring in 4 dimensions Drivers light temperature

• xygen

no place to hide Interactions with bottom

Webb TJ, Vanden Berghe E, O'Dor R (2010) Biodiversity's Big Wet Secret: The Global Distribution of Marine Biological Records Reveals Chronic Under-Exploration of the Deep Pelagic Ocean. PLoS ONE 5(8): e10223. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010223

Robison et al. (2010)

Topics Considered:

• 1. Data Gaps

Basically, the entire deep water column is a global data gap. Previous OE attempts insufficient.

• 2. Strategies, Methods, and Tools

Coordinated use of multiple tools (some requiring development). Observation, nets, acoustics, water chemistry, sensing.

• 3. Partnerships

Academics, fisheries agencies, philanthropy, citizen science.

• 4. Regional Priorities

Not tied as closely to specific locations as other (bottom-oriented) OE targets. Dynamic 4D, structured largely by depth.

Summary Recommendations:

• 1. Devote ship time to dedicated water-column expeditions to address large data gaps.
• 2. Build partnerships with groups to aid in rapid image- and data-analysis tools and to

leverage the strength and resources of commercial, governmental, academic, and non-profit institutions.

• 3. Support the development and testing of water-column-specific technologies to

improve our ability to collect, analyze, and visualize appropriate data within this 4D space.

• 4. Develop efficient and effective characterization protocols by utilizing multiple

complementary techniques and approaches (e.g., nets, acoustics, imaging, and in situ sensing) to execute multi-disciplinary programs.

• 5. In addition to standardized characterization, determine how best to target specific

pelagic phenomena such as oxygen-minimum zones and the bathypelagic- mesopelagic transition (particularly in areas targeted for uses such as mining), to support informed decision-making regarding the growing Blue Economy.

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