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NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration Quick Look Report

Expedition Title: \_Arctic Hidden
Ocean\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Results (please  | Details (please describe any novel discoveries in |
| check all        | the discipline, answers such as "possible,        |
| disciplines in   | awaiting data analysis" and "no apparent          |
| which this       | discoveries" are acceptable)                      |
| cruise collected |                                                   |
| data)            |                                                   |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Bathymetric      | *(please note total area mapped and technology    |
| Mapping          | employed, e.g. multibeam, side scan, etc.)*       |
|                  |                                                   |
|  Yes X No       | none                                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| New Species      | *(please note number, type, and significance      |
| Discovered       | ,i.e. radically new vs. slight adaptation of      |
|                  | known species)*                                   |
| X Yes  No       |                                                   |
|                  | At least three suspected new species of           |
| []{.mark}        | polychaetes were discovered in box core samples   |
|                  | so far. These records still need to be checked    |
|                  | and confirmed at the home lab with a thorough     |
|                  | literature check. Some samples are not yet fully  |
|                  | sorted and analyzed and the potential for more    |
|                  | new species is high. Several other species        |
|                  | unknown to the onboard scientists were observed   |
|                  | and collected during ROV dives, including several |
|                  | fish species. Whether any of these are new to     |
|                  | science remains to be determined in cooperation   |
|                  | with specialists that will be contacted after the |
|                  | cruise.                                           |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Bio-prospecting  | *(please note number, type, and potential use of  |
|                  | new compounds discovered)*                        |
|  Yes X No       |                                                   |
|                  | none                                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Habitat Range    | *(please note species discovered in new habitats  |
| Extended         | and how far from previous range were they found)* |
|                  |                                                   |
| X Yes  No       | At least seven polychaete species collected       |
|                  | marked significant range extensions in            |
| []{.mark}        | geographical area and/or in depth. More range     |
|                  | extensions are expected once the full set of      |
|                  | samples is analyzed.                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Chemical         | *(please note new or unusual chemical properties  |
| Processes        | such as methane seeps, hypersaline pools, vents,  |
|                  | etc. observed)*                                   |
|  Yes X No       |                                                   |
|                  | none                                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Geologic         | *(please note new or unusual geologic processes   |
| Processes        | that may impact scientific understanding of the   |
|                  | region)*                                          |
|  Yes X No       |                                                   |
|                  | none                                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Physical         | *(please note new or unusual oceanographic        |
| Processes        | processes that may impact scientific              |
|                  | understanding of the region)*                     |
|  Yes X No       |                                                   |
|                  | none                                              |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Sub/ROV/AUV      | *(please note name, type, and cumulative hours of |
| Dives            | bottom time for each platform / if available      |
|                  | please provide average working time per dive for  |
| X Yes  No       | each platform / please note if new depth records  |
|                  | were set)*                                        |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | The ROV "Global Explorer" performed a total of 8  |
|                  | benthic ROV dives. Two of these were portions of  |
|                  | pelagic ROV dives with a benthic bottom time of   |
|                  | two hours. Bottom time of entirely benthic dives  |
|                  | differed between 3 and 8 hours. Depth ranged from |
|                  | 880-2550 m. Copies of logs were provided to NOAA  |
|                  | OE (S. Rutz).                                     |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| New Technology   | *(please note any new tools developed for or      |
|                  | during this cruise, also identify first use of an |
| X Yes  No       | existing technology in a new application)*        |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | A photo platform was constructed for the purpose  |
|                  | of this expedition to allow quantitative image    |
|                  | sampling of the seafloor even at great depth. The |
|                  | platform was deployed 10 times during the cruise. |
|                  | Initial problems with wire connections, battery   |
|                  | power and altimetry were solved and the platform  |
|                  | had 7 very successful dives with up to 1000       |
|                  | high-resolution digital images from each          |
|                  | deployment.                                       |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Maritime         | *(please note discoveries impacting knowledge of  |
| Cultural         | the past, i.e. number and type of shipwrecks)*    |
| Heritage         |                                                   |
|                  | none                                              |
|  Yes X No       |                                                   |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Outreach         | (please describe outreach channels, e.g. web,     |
|                  | port call, etc., used in this project)            |
| X Yes  No       |                                                   |
|                  | Outreach activities during the cruise included    |
|                  | contributions of pictures, videos, logs and       |
|                  | background essays for the NOAA oceanexplorer      |
|                  | website. Furthermore, B. Bluhm participated       |
|                  | during the cruise in a phone interview with Paula |
|                  | Keener-Chavis at the National Marine Educator     |
|                  | Association Meeting, Hawaii on the educational    |
|                  | aspects of this expedition. In addition, B. Bluhm |
|                  | arranged for Jack Adams, NOAA Teacher-at-Sea, to  |
|                  | participate in the cruise and she is the advisor  |
|                  | of Jack's college credit class associated with    |
|                  | the cruise. All team participants have supported  |
|                  | Joe Bruncsak (Blue Land Media) in his effort to   |
|                  | produce educational video. During the major media |
|                  | event at the end of the cruise all team members   |
|                  | participated in interviews with various media     |
|                  | people (ABC news, Blue Land Media, NPR).          |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Students         | *(please note the number and level of students on |
| Involved         | the expedition)*                                  |
|                  |                                                   |
| X Yes  No       | Three students were involved in parts of the      |
|                  | benthic work. Two graduate students participated  |
|                  | in the collection and processing of samples for   |
|                  | stable isotope food web analysis. They also       |
|                  | assisted during the benthic ROV dives by taking   |
|                  | notes on the dive as well as analyzing video      |
|                  | tapes for appropriate still picture capturing. An |
|                  | undergraduate student assisted with the           |
|                  | photoplatform deployments and camera              |
|                  | configurations.                                   |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| M                | *(please identify the formal disciplines          |
| ultidisciplinary | represented in the science party)*                |
|                  |                                                   |
| X Yes  No       | The overall expedition was a collaborative effort |
|                  | between physical-chemical oceanographers,         |
|                  | biological oceanographers, marine biologists, and |
|                  | seafloor mapping experts. This particular project |
|                  | component had a strong multidisciplinary nature   |
|                  | through the stable isotope food web analysis.     |
|                  | Sampling for this task included not only benthic  |
|                  | organisms but also samples from the water column  |
|                  | (cooperation with Primary Productivity group),    |
|                  | the ice (cooperation with the ice group) and      |
|                  | plankton (cooperation with the zooplankton        |
|                  | group). The results of this study will encompass  |
|                  | all realms and disciplines.                       |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Exploration of   | *(please note if the area of operations had been  |
| New Regions      | previously studied, if so please check no and     |
|                  | approximate as slight, moderate or significant,   |
| X Yes  No       | the level of knowledge before the cruise)*        |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | This cruise targeted unknown and poorly known     |
|                  | regions of the deep Arctic Canada Basin, the      |
|                  | Northwind Ridge, the Northwind Abyssal Plain and  |
|                  | the Chukchi Plateau. Some regions had been        |
|                  | visited before during an OE-funded cruise in      |
|                  | 2002, but with limited sampling success. Other    |
|                  | regions were unknown at least for their           |
|                  | biological properties. Overall, the expedition    |
|                  | significantly improved of our knowledge of the    |
|                  | area.                                             |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+

**NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration**

**FY 2005 Expeditions**

**Quick Look Report Required Elements**

The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration (OE) does not require a specific
Quick Look Report format. Reports submitted under other requirements
(e.g. Cruise Summary Report (CSR)) or Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated
Investigations (FOCI)) are acceptable. In all cases Quick Look Reports
submitted to OE should contain the following elements:

**Project title:**

In Darwin\'s footsteps: food limitation and habitat heterogeneity as
selective forces of diversity in the deep-sea benthos

**Principal Investigator and institution:** Dr. Bodil Bluhm, School of
Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks

**Expedition title:** Arctic Hidden Ocean

# Expedition dates and itinerary: 

# 26 June 2005 -- boarding USCGC Healy out of Barrow

28 June 2005 -- start sampling at Station #2

25 July 2005 -- conclude sampling at Station #15

26 July 2005 -- disembark USCGC Healy in Barrow

31 July 2005 -- offload in Dutch Harbor

# Chief Scientist and institution: Dr. Rolf Gradinger, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks

# Co-sponsors / partners / participating organizations: 

Dr. Katrin Iken, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of
Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Ian MacDonald, Texas A&M University Corpus Christie

**Vessel Identification:** USCGC Healy

# Primary Equipment: 

# Box cores: quantitative samples of seafloor infauna

# Photoplatform: quantitative image samples of seafloor epifauna

ROV "Global Explorer": descriptive image samples of seafloor epifauna;
collection of voucher specimens of epifauna

Trawl: collection of seafloor epifauna

SCUBA: collection of ice fauna for food web analysis

**Geographic area of operations:**

Canada Basin -- deep Arctic Ocean, including adjacent areas of Northwind
Ridge, Northwind Abyssal Plain and Chukchi Plateau

N-S coordinates: 76º27.47 N - 71 º15.87 N

W-E coordinates: 163 º30.13 W - 151 º35.19 W

# Summary of Expedition Objectives: (a list the proposed objectives that were met as a result of the expedition)

1.  **Is benthic habitat heterogeneity in the Canada Basin a driving
    force for a diverse community?**

> Our objectives here were to:

-   analyze megabenthic and macrobenthic community composition and
    distribution patterns in relation to sediment and habitat features
    through photographic transects

-   analyze the deep-sea benthic species for their biogeographic
    affinities

-   compare community structure and distribution patterns to other
    Arctic and deep-sea systems

2.  **Could limited food availability be the selective pressure causing
    specialization, a prerequisite for speciation?**

> Our objectives here were to

-   determine feeding specialization and food web structure using ROV
    behavioral observations and stable isotope analysis

-   compare food web structure and feeding strategies with other Arctic
    and deep-sea systems

**Milestones Achieved:** (This section of the report should amplify the
information provided in the official OE cover sheet summary of results.
This section should elaborate on key findings)

We consider the collection of the following samples during a
multi-disciplinary 4-week expedition in ice-covered deep waters a great
success. To our knowledge, this sample set is the largest benthic data
set collected in the study area.

-   36 box cores at 12 stations

-   6 dedicated benthic ROV dives, 2 additional benthic portions of
    pelagic dives

-   10 camera platform deployments (7 with very good results)

-   3 trawl deployments (2 with very good results)

-   over 1000 food web samples from over 70 taxonomic groups

-   72 Arctic cod samples for otolith analysis

Key findings included new species, range extensions, and higher than
expected faunal densities (esp. within the megafauna). Operational
milestones included camera platorm deployments to full depth at 3850m,
successful faunal collections using the ROV's manipulator arm and
suction hose at max. depths of 2550 m and trawl deployments in
ice-covered waters at \>2000m depth.

# Sample log entries:

The following provide examples of data log entries for the different
tasks:

Box cores (copy of complete table available at NOAA (S. Rutz)):

  ---- ------ -------- ------- --------- --------- ------- -------- -------- ------- ------------- ----------------
  St   Cast   Date     Depth   Lat       Long      Time in Time     Time out Photo   Sediment      Comments
                                                   AK      bottom                    Description   

  3    3-1    30-Jun   1852    72 21.485 155       23.55   0.29     1.15     Nikon   brown upper   large ophiuroid
                                         19.1212                                     5-6cm,        on surface
                                                                                     clay-gray     (Ophiopleura?)
                                                                                     below; smooth 
                                                                                     surface,      
                                                                                     fluffy        

  3    3-2    1-Jul    1836    72        155       1.22    2.01     \~2.40   Nikon   similar;      white crustacean
                               21.3592   19.4875                                     clear water   (possibly
                                                                                     on all BC so  isopod)
                                                                                     far (about    
                                                                                     3-8cm)        

  3    3-3    1-Jul    1836    72        155       3.10    3.44     \~4.20           similar;      same crustacean;
                               21.3043   19.7357                                     water gone    took Chl,
                                                                                                   Isotope, grain
                                                                                                   size, microbio.

  3    3-4    1-Jul    1825    72        155       4.40    5.16     6.00             similar;       
                               21.2323   19.7323                                     water on, no  
                                                                                     rocks, a few  
                                                                                     holes         
  ---- ------ -------- ------- --------- --------- ------- -------- -------- ------- ------------- ----------------

Stable Isotope samples (summary table available at NOAA: S. Rutz):

  --------- ------- -------- --------------- ------------ ------- ------------- ----------- ------ ----------
  Station   Date    Sample   Species         Taxon        Realm   \#            Replicate   Gear   Tissue
                    \#                                            Individuals                      

  3         1-Jul   66       *Aglaophanus    Polychaeta   B       1             1           BC 3-3 complete
                             malengreni*                                                           

  3         1-Jul   67       *Aricidea       Polychaeta   B       1             1           BC 3-3 complete
                             quadrilobata*                                                         

  3         1-Jul   68       *Aricidea       Polychaeta   B       1             2           BC 3-3 complete
                             quadrilobata*                                                         

  3         1-Jul   69       *Aricidea       Polychaeta   B       1             3           BC 3-3 complete
                             quadrilobata*                                                         

  3         1-Jul   70       *Augeneria      Polychaeta   B       2             1           BC 3-3 complete
                             albidentata                                                           
                             sadko*                                                                

  3         1-Jul   71       *Augeneria      Polychaeta   B       1             2           BC 3-3 complete
                             albidentata                                                           
                             sadko*                                                                
  --------- ------- -------- --------------- ------------ ------- ------------- ----------- ------ ----------

**Summary of Digital Data Collected:**

Photoplatform: 1524 x 2048 pixels per digital picture; 1 MB per picture;
acceptance angle of camera 54 x 48º

ROV: High Definition Video; Digital still pictures with 1563 x 2048
pixels, 1.48MB per picture (highlights video at NOAA: K. Elliott)

Photography at stereo-microscope: digital stills, variable resolution
(selection available for download at www.coml.org)

# Summary of outreach and educational activities: (a summary discussion of the nature and success of the activities, i.e., number and types of displays and participants in the case of an open-house event)

Outreach activities during the cruise included contributions of
pictures, videos, logs and background essays for the NOAA oceanexplorer
website. Furthermore, B. Bluhm participated during the cruise in a phone
interview with Paula Keener-Chavis at the National Marine Educator
Association Meeting, Hawaii on the educational aspects of this
expedition. In addition, B. Bluhm arranged for Jack Adams, NOAA
Teacher-at-Sea, to participate in the cruise and she is the advisor of
Jack's college credit class associated with the cruise. All team
participants have supported Joe Bruncsak (Blue Land Media) in his effort
to produce educational video. During the major media event at the end of
the cruise all team members participated in interviews with various
media people (ABC news, Blue Land Media, NPR).

**Thoughts for the Future:** (a discussion of any ideas for future
exploration, research, or management activities related to the work
accomplished)

The deep Canada Basin revealed much more and more diverse life than
previously thought and the expedition has set the stage to develop
hypotheses that should be explored in future research. At the same time,
the cruise has shown that ridge systems in the Arctic Ocean are
particularly interesting. Deep basins are divided by several ridges,
which also mark the diversion of deeper water masses. As such, ridge
systems may be regions of biogeographic breaks, where Atlantic, Pacific
and endemic Arctic fauna separate. As break regions they may harbor
enriched diversity (overlap of regimes) as well as possibly new species.
Some Arctic ridge systems also are geologically active and have shown
signs of chemosynthetic communities around vent systems. Future
exploration could focus on one of these major ridge systems. Depending
on icebreaker and time availability, the Alpha Ridge (bordering the now
better known Canada Basin), the Lomonosov Ridge (dividing the Ameriasian
and the Eurasian Arctic) or the Gakkel Ridge (apparently bearing
chemosynthetic life), could be explored.

**Summary of Expedition Operations** (A good summary would identify as
many of the following elements as possible for each "operation." Table
formats are ideal for this aspect of the report: data type collected /
time / position / ID tag /operation type /dive tracklines / depth
/comments)

A total of 65 deployments/operations were performed for the
benthic/foodweb team during the Arctic Hidden Ocean expedition. The
following provides a summary of project activities (complete station
table available at NOAA: S. Rutz):

  ------------- ------------ --------- -------- --------------- ------------------------------
  **Station**   **Date**     **Start   **End    **System**      **Samples**
                             Time**    Time**                   

  Station 2     6/28/2005    8:30      12:15    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 2     6/28/2005    9:29      11:15    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 2     6/28/2005    13:52     18:55    BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 2     6/29/2005    0:30      0:45     BEAM            no collections, gear failure

  Station 3     6/29/2005    8:15      10:20    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 3     6/29/2005    13:00     18:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 3     6/30/2005    10:00     14:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 3     6/30 -       23:53     5:59     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections
                7/1/2005                                        

  Station 3     7/1/2005     8:45      12:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 3     7/1/2005     13:40     19:32    ROV             poor quality, no collections

  Station 4     7/2/2005     9:56      19:51    ROV             poor quality, no collections

  Station 4     7/2/2005     10:00     14:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 4     7/2/2005     20:56     22:30    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 4     7/2 -        23:30     5:28     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections
                7/3/2005                                        

  Station 4     7/3/2005     7:18      11:49    PHOTOPLATFORM   719 pictures, focus problems

  Station 4     7/3/2005     8:00      11:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 5     7/4/2005     18:10     20:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 5     7/5/2005     9:30      11:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 5     7/5/2005     14:20     20:01    PHOTOPLATFORM   no images, camera turned off

  Station 5     7/5 -        21:30     0:00     CTD             POM for stable isotope
                7/6/2005                                        analysis

  Station 5     7/6/2005     0:35      9:15     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 6     7/6 -        21:56     2:55     BEAM            epibenthos collections
                7/7/2005                                        

  Station 6     7/7/2005     4:33      10:06    PHOTOPLATFORM   297 pictures, mixed quality,
                                                                altimetry problems

  Station 6     7/7/2005     9:00      12:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 6     7/8/2005     8:50      11:27    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 7     7/8 -        23:37     2:14     CTD             POM for stable isotope
                7/9/2005                                        analysis

  Station 7     7/9/2005     9:00      14:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 7     7/9 -        21:18     2:23     PHOTOPLATFORM   278 pictures, poor quality,
                7/10/2005                                       lighting problems

  Station 7     7/10/2005    2:56      11:16    BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 8     7/10/2005    16:17     18:49    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 8     7/11/2005    9:00      16:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 8     7/11/2005    20:30     4:44     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 8     7/12/2005    5:30      10:27    PHOTOPLATFORM   615 pictures, good quality

  Station 9     7/13/2005    6:53      12:29    PHOTOPLATFORM   753 pictures, good quality

  Station 9     7/13/2005    8:30      12:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 9     7/13/2005    12:47     20:55    BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 9     7/13 -       21:25     0:06     CTD             POM for stable isotope
                7/14/2005                                       analysis

  Station 9     7/14/2005    9:00      13:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 10    7/15/2005    8:00      12:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 10    7/15/2005    9:27      17:08    ROV             2 hrs benthic bottom time, no
                                                                collections

  Station 10    7/15/2005    17:15     18:13    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 11    7/16/2005    9:00      11:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 11    7/16/2005    21:00     22:25    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 11    7/16 -       21:44     3:16     PHOTOPLATFORM   1041 pictures, very good
                7/17/2005                                       quality

  Station 11    7/17/2005    3:45      7:44     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 11    7/17/2005    9:45      20:22    ROV             good quality, collections

  Station 12    7/18/2005    10:17     11:12    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 12    7/18/2005    13:18     20:39    ROV             good quality, collections

  Station 12    7/18 -       21:32     1:26     PHOTOPLATFORM   819 pictures, excellent
                7/19/2005                                       quality

  Station 12    7/19/2005    2:11      5:06     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 13    7/20/2005    3:21      4:54     CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 13    7/20/2005    5:05      11:27    ROV             good quality, collections

  Station 13    7/20/2005    8:15      12:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 13    7/20 -       22:50     2:26     PHOTOPLATFORM   700 pictures, excellent
                7/21/2005                                       quality

  Station 13    7/21/2005    2:43      8:00     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections

  Station 14    7/21/2005    22:46     23:30    CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 14    7/21/2005    23:15     1:30     SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 14    7/22/2005    1:30      9:30     ROV             2 hrs bottom time, no
                                                                collections

  Station 15    7/23/2005    6:22      8:11     CTD             POM for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 15    7/23/2005    8:30      12:30    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 15    7/23/2005    21:33     2:47     PHOTOPLATFORM   \>1000 pictures, very good
                                                                quality

  Station 15    7/24/2005    7:50      17:16    ROV             good quality, collections

  Station 15    7/24/2005    9:00      14:00    SCUBA           collections for stable isotope
                                                                analysis

  Station 15    7/24 -       18:20     0:21     BOXCORE         benthic infauna collections
                7/25//2005                                      

  Station 15    7/25/2005    4:13      9:06     OTTER TRAWL     benthic epifauna collections
  ------------- ------------ --------- -------- --------------- ------------------------------

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