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STUDY TITLE: Continuing and Expanding a Deepwater Biological Observation System in the Northern Gulf of 

Mexico

REPORT TITLE: Continuing and expanding a deepwater biological observation system in the Northern Gulf of 

Mexico

CONTRACT NUMBER: M13AC00010

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Gulf of Mexico

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): Western Gulf of Mexico, Central Gulf of Mexico

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 2013–2019

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: 29 Sept 2018

COSTS: $290,267

PROJECT MANAGER(S): David Moran

AFFILIATION of Project Manager: BOEM, Biological Sciences Unit, Environmental Science Division, Gulf of 

Mexico Region

ADDRESS: Mailstop 673E, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd, New Orleans 70123

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)*

: Mark C Benfield

KEY WORDS: Remotely operated vehicles, ROVs, deep sea, biological observations, vertical distributions, 

marine life, deep-sea organisms

BRIEF ABSTRACT: Industrial remotely operated vehicles working from deepwater exploration and production 

facilities were used to conduct biological surveys and collect observations of marine life across the northern Gulf 

of Mexico. Participating companies included Shell, BP, Petrobras America, and Anadarko. Observations of 

midwater, demersal, and benthic organisms are summarized along with geographic locations and depths. 

Inspection videos provided an opportunity to estimate the vertical distribution patterns of sessile organisms and 

some fishes.

BACKGROUND: SERPENT (Scientific Rov Partnership using Existing iNdustrial Technology) is a global scientific 

collaboration between the oil and gas industry and academia. It affords scientific access to industrial vessels and 

the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that are deployed in support of petroleum exploration and production. Gulf 

SERPENT was initiated in 2005 with a grant from NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration. BP was the first industrial 

partner and the success of that project led to funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). 

The concept behind Gulf SERPENT is to use industrial ROV operational standby time for scientific observations. 

Most deepwater vessels are equipped with one or two ROV systems capable of operating to 3000 or 4000 m 

depth. The ROVs are used with various subsea work but on average, they are operational and on standby about 

30–40% of the time. This is time when they can potentially be devoted to science. This report summarizes 

observations from industrial ROVs collected in the Northern Gulf of Mexico from 2013–2019.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of Gulf SERPENT were to use video observations collected by ROVs operating in 

the oceanic waters of the Gulf of Mexico to assemble a picture of: (1) what organisms were present; (2) where 

they occurred (season, time of day, depth); and (3) document behavior and inter- and intra-species associations.

DESCRIPTION: Biological observations of deep-sea organisms were collected by industrial ROVs operated from 

petroleum exploration and production facilities in the northern Gulf of Mexico between 26.52oN to 28.85oN and 

94.87oW to 87.58oW. Observations of representative organisms observed are provided along with location, date, 
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time and depth for each site. Systematic inspections of risers were used to evaluate the vertical distributions of 

selected taxa living on, or near the risers to estimate their ideal settlement pattern throughout the water column.

SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: Vertical distributions of the coldwater coral Lophelia pertusa on risers indicated a 

Gaussian pattern with a mode near 500 m and a range from 300–700 m. The soft coral Anthomastus sp. had a 

vertical distribution that extended from 800 m to within approximately 50 m of the seabed and a mode of 1085 m. 

The invasive orange cup coral Tubastrea coccinia was abundant on all structures surveyed from the near surface 

to 90 m. The coral disappeared between 90–122 m suggesting that its range is 0– ~125 m. The invasive lionfish 

Pterois volutans and P. miles were observed between 18.8–81.7 m. The distributions of tunas (likely yellowfin 

tuna Thunnus albacares) below Shell’s Mars platform in relation to acoustic backscattering from the ADCP 

suggested the following daily feeding pattern: from approximately 03:00–04:00, foraging occurs in the midwater 

scattering layer (400–600 m) and just above the seabed; from ~03:30 until 07:00, tunas feed on the descending 

scattering layer as it returns from the surface to mid-depth; some feeding occurs in, and just below the midwater 

scattering layer until approximately 11 am. No tuna were observed in the afternoon or evening.

STUDY RESULTS This study provides data on the spatial and temporal distribuitons of a wide range of species 

below exploration and production facilities operated by Shell, BP, Petrobras America, and others from 2013–

2018. These data provide some indications of what species occur in the vicinity of these sites, particularly on the 

seabed. In the event of any environmental perturbation, these data will provide some basis for assessing changes 

in the species richness at these sites. Vertical distribution patterns on risers give an ideal estimate of the 

settlement patterns of selected species throughout the water column and may inform siting of artificial structures 

where the goal is to provide settlement substrate for selected taxa.

STUDY PRODUCT(S): The following publications were produced with partial support from this study.

Benfield MC, Kupchik MJ. 2020. Continuing and expanding a deepwater biological observation system in the 

Northern Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans (LA): US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. Cooperative agreement No.: M13AC00010. OCS Study BOEM 2020-022. 255 p.

Kupchik MJ, Benfield MC, Sutton TT. 2018. The first in situ encounter of Gigantura chuni (Giganturidae: 

Giganturoidei: Aulopiformes: Cyclosquamata: Teleostei), with a preliminary investigation of pair-bonding. 

Copeia. 106 (4): 641–645. DOI: 10.1643/CE-18-034.

McLean DL, Macreadie P, White DJ, Thomson PG, Fowler A, et al. 2018. Understanding the global scientific 

value of industry ROV data, to quantify marine ecology and guide offshore decommissioning strategies. 

Offshore Technology Conference Asia. OTC-28312-MS. https://doi.org/10.4043/28312-MS.

Macreadie PI, McLean DL, Thomson PG, Partridge JC, Jones DOB, et al. 2018. Eyes in the sea: unlocking the 

mysteries of the ocean using industrial, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Science of the Total 

Environment. 634: 1077–1091. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.049.

Gates AR, Benfield MC, Booth DJ, Fowler AM, Skropeta D, et al. 2016. Deep-sea observations at hydrocarbon 

drilling locations: contributions from the SERPENT Project after 120 field visits. Deep-sea Res II. 137: 463–

479. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.07.011

Hoving HJT, Zeidberg LD, Benfield MC, Bush SL, Robison BH, et al. 2013. First in situ observations of the deepsea squid Grimalditeuthis bonplandi reveal unique use of tentacles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 280: 

20131463. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1463.

*

P.I.’s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project Manager(s).