Scientists Collect Biodiversity Data in Argentina’s Submarine Canyons
Scientists on an Argentinian-led expedition onboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) deployed an array of technologies to collect the most robust data set available about how the major Malvinas ocean current interacts with submarine canyons and influences Argentina’s renowned marine biodiversity. Their goal was to better understand the region’s plankton blooms, the basis of the food web that sustains the Argentinian fishing industry. These plankton blooms are so large that they can be observed from space. The expedition was led by Dr. Silvia Ines Romero of Argentina’s Servicio de Hidrografia Naval. Her team hypothesized that these submarine canyons serve as conduits between the deep sea and shallower waters – providing essential nutrients that support Argentina’s massive phytoplankton blooms, which, in turn, support thriving marine ecosystems. Over 27 days in October, they used a glider, 46 sea surface drifters, two seafloor landers, a moored buoy, and additional shipboard technologies to map four submarine canyons and surrounding areas to collect data on how currents interact with the seafloor.The expedition was Schmidt Ocean Institute’s second in collaboration with Argentinian scientists and within the country’s waters. The team leading the first expedition to the Mar Del Plata submarine canyon observed rich biodiversity and fragile cold-water coral ecosystems. Knowing the shape of the canyons is the first step to understanding how currents move within them, Romero said. The high-quality maps, using data from R/V Falkor (too)’s sonars, revealed striking seafloor features; some canyons had steep walls, while others had terraces. Scientists know the canyons concentrate phytoplankton, the base of the marine food web, along the shelfbreak, particularly near the canyon heads and surface waters, but no one had collected all the necessary physical and chemical oceanographic data documenting the conditions that facilitate the large blooms in these areas.Ph.D. student Melina Scian from the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Assistant Researcher Lucía Carolina Kahl from the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, and Chief Scientist Silvia Romero from Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, Universidad de la Defensa Nacional, and Universidad de Buenos Aires, examine a jar of zooplankton collected offshore of Argentina on the R/V Falkor (too). © Schmidt Ocean InstituteThe team will spend the coming months analyzing the data to understand the specific mechanisms that fuel phytoplankton blooms and control currents within the canyons. The research will provide insight regarding harmful algal blooms, biodiversity protection, and climate change resilience. The high-quality maps will be given to the Argentine Hydrographic Service to improve navigational charts. They will also be a part of a global effort to map the seafloor through the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 project. The team also used Schmidt Ocean Institute’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian to observe the biodiversity and collect samples in the canyons. With the high-resolution ROV cameras, they discovered coral-covered walls, black sediment that spewed bubbles, suggesting the presence of methane seeps, and large schools of fish.