Still images from 2 ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Holland dives obtained during CE12006 research cruise onboard RV Celtic Explorer.

Seabed still images taken with ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) Holland during CE12006 cruise onboard RV Celtic Explorer between 12-29 April 2012. Video did not work during this survey due to technical problems and bad weather. This was a multidisciplinary deep-sea research cruise, combining two components: biodiscovery, and ecosystem functioning and nutrient recycling. The scientific objectives of biodiscovery while working on the lower slope and at bathyal/abyssal depths in canyon regions were: Identify and map benthic macrofauna using conventional cores and ROV surveys; Improve systematic knowledge of Porifera and Mollusca, groups with known biodiscovery potential, using traditional morphological techniques in combination with molecular biology; Collect marine specimens for freeze-drying and the preparation of extracts in the MI Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory; Collect marine specimens likely to have novel photoactive molecules; Characterise bacterial and archaeal diversity in deep sea water and sediment samples over spatial and temporal scales; and Collect marine invertebrate samples (particularly sponges), seawater samples, and marine sediment to study and compare the microbiota associated with each of the samples, culture microorganisms and construct metagenomic libraries. The objectives of ecosystem function and nutrient cycling were: Examine the mechanisms whereby biogenic material, essentially derived for the spring diatom bloom and deposited on the continental shelf, is advected into layers within the open ocean water column from whence it sinks to the sea bed; Delineate the advective extent of these nepheloid layers of biogenic material derived from the continental shelf; Detect and determine the diversity and abundance of deep-sea nitrogen cycling microorganisms; Characterise and determine the origins, lability and recycling rates of dissolved and particulate organic matter supporting the currently accepted net heterotrophic nature of deepsea CWC reef communities; Collect calcifying detritivores (echinoids / asteroids), Lophelia branches, coral rubble and sediment to study the transfer of C and N through the detritivore foodweb; and Collect water and sediment samples to determine mixing and resuspension rates at the sediment water interface using natural radiotracers. Chief Scientist: Professor Louise Allcock, Head of Zoology and Director of the Ryan Institute?s Centre for Ocean Research & Exploration (COREx), NUI Galway, Ireland. Link to cruise report entitled "Biodiscovery and deep-ocean ecosystems" (PDF): http://data.marine.ie/data/IrelandsSeabedCatalogue/CE12006_louise_allcock/CruiseReport_CE12006.pdf.  Images are stored on a hard drive at the Marine Institute. These images are accompanied with XL table with navigation data, therefore, allowing for GIS integration. All images and XL table can be found in the following folder: http://data.marine.ie/data/IrelandsSeabedCatalogue/CE12006_louise_allcock/CE12006_sonardyne_event12.xls. This data was collected as part of a research cruise onboard RV Celtic Explorer CE12006. This was a multidisciplinary deep-sea research cruise, combining two components: biodiscovery, and ecosystem functioning and nutrient recycling. The scientific objectives of biodiscovery while working on the lower slope and at bathyal/abyssal depths in canyon regions were: Identify and map benthic macrofauna using conventional cores and ROV surveys; Improve systematic knowledge of Porifera and Mollusca, groups with known biodiscovery potential, using traditional morphological techniques in combination with molecular biology; Collect marine specimens for freeze-drying and the preparation of extracts in the MI Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory; Collect marine specimens likely to have novel photoactive molecules; Characterise bacterial and archaeal diversity in deep sea water and sediment samples over spatial and temporal scales; and Collect marine invertebrate samples (particularly sponges), seawater samples, and marine sediment to study and compare the microbiota associated with each of the samples, culture microorganisms and construct metagenomic libraries. The objectives of ecosystem function and nutrient cycling were: Examine the mechanisms whereby biogenic material, essentially derived for the spring diatom bloom and deposited on the continental shelf, is advected into layers within the open ocean water column from whence it sinks to the sea bed; Delineate the advective extent of these nepheloid layers of biogenic material derived from the continental shelf; Detect and determine the diversity and abundance of deep-sea nitrogen cycling microorganisms; Characterise and determine the origins, lability and recycling rates of dissolved and particulate organic matter supporting the currently accepted net heterotrophic nature of deepsea CWC reef communities; Collect calcifying detritivores (echinoids / asteroids), Lophelia branches, coral rubble and sediment to study the transfer of C and N through the detritivore foodweb; and Collect water and sediment samples to determine mixing and resuspension rates at the sediment water interface using natural radiotracers.

Tags: environment
Organization: Marine Institute