English
From deep-sea corals to glass sponges, from amphipods to squat lobsters, new deep-sea life has been discovered.
Scientists say these findings from a recent Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition could be contributing to new science.
Erin Easton, an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, was one of those involved in the expedition.
"Our expectations and goals for this cruise were to collect representative fauna from the Nazca Ridge and Salas y Gómez Ridge and the Juan Fernandez ridge. And we want to look to see if we can identify, how those benthic or seafloor communities of animals change with depth and among the different seamounts. And, we were looking to see if there were any, if each community of the seamount was distinct or if they were similar, so that we can inform conservation management decisions."
The Salas y Gómez Ridge and the Nazca ridges are underwater mountain chains that cover 2,900 kilometres in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.
Descending into the deep ocean, the scientists used an underwater robot to explore seamounts along the two ridges.
They hope this data can support the designation of an international high-seas marine protected area.
Professor Easton again.
"We were able to observe over 150 species that have not been reported for the region and we believe potentially 100 or more of those are new species to science. We observed these large urchins called cactus urchins. They were quite tall, a half a metre sort of tall. And, we saw them in large clusters. We observed forests of corals, so we saw a forest of bamboo corals that were probably thousands of years old. We also saw many other species of corals that were probably in the order of thousands of years old."
The scientists also mapped 52,777 square kilometres of seafloor.
Jyotika Virmani is the Executive Director at Schmidt Ocean Institute.
She says one of the seamounts is 3.5 kilometres tall.
"There's a lot of areas of the world that have never been seen and never been mapped. So in addition to the new species, they discovered four new seamounts as well, which are basically underwater mountains, one of which is 3.5 kilometres tall. So they're not little features. They're quite big features. And this part of the world is important because of its biodiversity and also because it's a very interesting geological region. It's the meeting of a number of tectonic plates."
Professor Easton says the scientists are soon setting off for a second expedition 24 February along the Salas y Gomez Ridge.
"We've expanded our knowledge of the biodiversity of the ocean substantially. We believe through our observations, we've increased the number of known species for this region by roughly 34 per cent, possibly more. And, that's all biodiversity that we had no clue existed. The over 100 potential new species, those are species new to science. And with more changes occurring across the world, more and more marine communities are at risk before we ever know what's there and their importance. So, it's really important that we understand which fauna and which organisms live where, and what are the parameters that are suitable for their persistence, so that we can maintain healthy and sustainable ocean."
Italian
Dai coralli di profondità alle spugne di vetro, dagli anfipodi alle aragoste tozze, nuove forme di vita sono state scoperte nelle profondità marine.
Gli scienziati affermano che queste scoperte, effettuate nel corso di una recente spedizione dell’Istituto Schmidt Ocean, potrebbero contribuire al progresso scientifico.
Erin Easton, assistente professoressa presso l'Università del Texas Rio Grande Valley, è stata una delle persone coinvolte nella spedizione.
"Our expectations and goals for this cruise were to collect representative fauna from the Nazca Ridge and Salas y Gómez Ridge and the Juan Fernandez ridge. And we want to look to see if we can identify, how those benthic or seafloor communities of animals change with depth and among the different seamounts. And, we were looking to see if there were any, if each community of the seamount was distinct or if they were similar, so that we can inform conservation management decisions."
Le dorsali di Salas y Gómez e quelle di Nazca sono catene montuose sottomarine che si estendono per 2.900 chilometri nell'Oceano Pacifico sudorientale.
Scendendo nelle profondità oceaniche, gli scienziati hanno utilizzato un robot subacqueo per esplorare le montagne sottomarine lungo le due dorsali.
Si spera che questi dati possano supportare la designazione di un'area marina protetta internazionale in alto mare.
Ancora la professoressa Easton.
"We were able to observe over 150 species that have not been reported for the region and we believe potentially 100 or more of those are new species to science. We observed these large urchins called cactus urchins. They were quite tall, a half a meter sort of tall. And, we saw them in large clusters. We observed forests of corals, so we saw a forest of bamboo corals that were probably thousands of years old. We also saw many other species of corals that were probably in the order of thousands of years old."
Gli scienziati hanno anche mappato 52.777 chilometri quadrati di fondale marino.
Jyotika Virmani è la direttrice esecutiva dello Schmidt Ocean Institute.
Secondo lei, una delle montagne sottomarine è alta 3,5 chilometri.
"There's a lot of areas of the world that have never been seen and never been mapped. So in addition to the new species, they discovered four new seamounts as well, which are basically underwater mountains, one of which is 3.5 kilometres tall. So they're not little features. They're quite big features. And this part of the world is important because of its biodiversity and also because it's a very interesting geological region. It's the meeting of a number of tectonic plates."
La professoressa Easton afferma che gli scienziati partiranno presto per una seconda spedizione, il 24 febbraio, lungo la cresta di Salas y Gomez.
"We've expanded our knowledge of the biodiversity of the ocean substantially. We believe through our observations, we've increased the number of known species for this region by roughly 34 per cent, possibly more. And, that's all biodiversity that we had no clue existed. The over 100 potential new species, those are species new to science. And with more changes occurring across the world, more and more marine communities are at risk before we ever know what's there and their importance. So, it's really important that we understand which fauna and which organisms live where, and what are the parameters that are suitable for their persistence, so that we can maintain healthy and sustainable ocean."
