Download DEEP-SEA SUBMERSIBLE EXPEDITION TO AUSTRALIA AND

DEEP-SEA SUBMERSIBLE EXPEDITION
TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND:
PROSPECTUS
The ocean is the world’s greatest unexplored wilderness. Marine environments in the southwestern Pacific are the richest in the world, yet nine-tenths of them are made up of deep
water habitats which are almost completely unknown. This prospectus describes plans for
a collaborative venture of discovery between research bodies in Australia, New Zealand,
the United States and the United Kingdom, to bring together a team of international experts
to conduct research in the deep-sea off Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of
1999 using the US-based Johnson Sea-Link manned submersible.
The project brings a very strong prospect of discovering new species, as well as allowing
the specialist scientific team to undertake a range of extensive surveys of fish types, stocks
and localities. Crucially, the Sea-Link will also permit the collection of specimens for
detailed research into bio-diversity and the possible bio-technical or industrial applications
of the derivatives of deep-water life forms.
The Sea-Link offers a unique opportunity to use the best technology available to examine,
record and sample uncharted deep-sea habitats in Australia and New Zealand at first
hand, taking marine research and environmental science in the southern hemisphere into
vital new territory.
Launching the
Johnson Sea-Link
from the RV ‘Edwin
Link’
Background
Deep-sea squid
Two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by sea, of which 90% lies
beyond the relatively shallow waters of continental shelves. The Pacific,
with an average depth of 4,200m, is the world’s largest ecological zone;
yet the vast bulk of its deep-sea is unexplored, impractical for commercial
fishing and for the most part outside the reach of marine science because
of the habitat’s remoteness and difficult character - an immense undiscovered domain.
The marine environments of Australia and New Zealand are renowned for their diversity and abundance of
species, although only a fraction of their area has been explored in any detail due to the inaccessibility of the
deep ocean. In Australia, public and scientific interest has tended to focus on the
extraordinary riches of the Barrier Reef; but 80% of Australia’s waters
are deeper than 200m, where very little sampling work has been
carried out generally and direct exploration has been negligible due
to physical and technological constraints. In particular, deep rocky
areas which are unsuited to trawling are almost completely unknown.
Some deep-water sea-mounts have begun to be surveyed for new
food sources, although knowledge of life in these unique habitats is
still very limited.
Most of Australia’s marine environment therefore qualifies as
unexplored deep-sea. The challenge is to discover this ocean ‘beyond
the Reef’, demanding unprecedented commitment and new technology
to tackle it.
Why the Sea-Link?
Deep-sea Jellyfish
The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) in Florida has developed one of the world’s most
technically advanced operations for exploring and analysing the deep-sea and all its life forms. HBOI’s SeaLink submersibles and accompanying research ships have been supporting marine scientific research, geochemical surveys and ocean engineering projects with great success for over 10 years. The submersibles are
capable of independent manned operation at depths of up to 1000m using highly sophisticated direction,
location and imaging technology, carrying still and video cameras and equipment for gathering plant, animal
and sediment specimens with minimum disturbance to the organisms and marine environment.
Viperfish
A proper understanding of sea-life
depends on our ability to observe
the physical properties, movements
and activities of deep water species
in their natural habitats. The SeaLink is the state-of-the-art craft in
this field, highly manoeuverable and
combining the benefits of high
quality photographic recording of
deep-water creatures and their
environments with first-hand observation.
Deep-sea
jellyfish
What will we find?
Fascination with creatures such as the giant squid demonstrates the level of public interest in the deep-sea.
This species, believed to grow to over 20m in length, is
known to inhabit the deep waters around Australia and
New Zealand but has never before been observed in
its natural habitat. The Sea-Link is the best available
vehicle for exploring the depths for life of all kinds, and
the prospects for new discoveries are very strong.
Even though previous deep-sea sampling activities have been limited, they have uncovered an extraordinarily
rich eco-system and immense diversity of species, collecting a host of new data on the composition of fish and
other life, and the biological dynamics of the deep water environment.
Launch of Sea-Link
specimen containers
The CSIRO’s 1991 trawl survey off Western Australia gathered 388 species
of which 100 were new finds for Australia, and between 10-20% were
new to science. A more recent expedition in the western Pacific collected
21 deep-water species, 19 of which were new to science. The 21% increase since 1985 in the numbers of Australian fish species discovered,
and the vast area of sea still to be explored, suggest that we are nowhere
near the true total. Significantly, the majority of new species have been
discovered at or near the sea-bed in deep water, an area which scientists
on the Johnson Sea-Link are ideally equipped to examine at first hand.
The submersible will give us the opportunity to expand substantially on previous research and extend the
reach of marine and environmental science. It will also supply new information for use by key commercial
concerns such as the fishing, energy and biochemical industries. In particular, although science has only turned
to chemicals deriving from marine life-forms in the last few decades, the focus is sharpening rapidly with a
growing understanding of the ocean’s immense biodiversity and advances in sampling technology of the kind
embodied in the Sea-Link.
Project team
The project is being led by a partnership of scientists from
the University of Queensland, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida and the National Institute of
Water & Atmospheric Research in Wellington.
Deep-sea anglerfish
Members of the target group of marine experts who will
form the nucleus of the scientific team have given the
project their strong endorsement, and are awaiting the
outcome of efforts to raise the funding necessary for the
project to proceed.
The schedule
The expedition is planned for the first four months of 1999, comprising two ‘legs’ - one in Australian waters,
provisionally to the east of the Barrier Reef, off the east coast of the mainland and the south-eastern coast of
Tasmania, with a second in New Zealand waters off the north-eastern coast, at the Kaikura Canyon, and in
Fiordland. The final study locations and the duration of the survey are still subject to final agreement, and will depend critically on the weather.
Four separate plans for research work spanning
around 10 weeks in Australian waters are described
in outline in the annex to this prospectus.
Budget
Deep-sea
anglerfish
The maximum cost of the four-month survey is
estimated at just over A$4m including transit of
the Johnson Sea-Link submersible and its
accompanying research vessel between the US and Australasia, employment of the vessels’ crew and facilities
for the duration and fees for technical support. The cost of the research work in Australian waters including
contributions towards fixed overall expenses is expected to be A$2m; a detailed breakdown of the budget is
available from the project team at the University of Queensland at the address below on request. The full
amount must be met via sponsorship from outside interests.
Further details
The project team is ready to supply further information or discuss any aspect of the proposal. Please contact the
team through any of the following:
Dr Justin Marshall
Vision, Touch & Hearing
Research Centre
University of Queensland
Brisbane
Queensland 4072
Australia
Dr Rob Murdoch
National Institute of Water
and Atmospheric Research
301 Evans Bay Parade
PO Box 14-901
Kilbirnie
Wellington
New Zealand
Dr Shirley Pomponi
Biomed. Marine Research
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
5600 US 1 North
Fort Pierce
Florida 34946
USA
Tel: (61 7) 3365 4071
Fax: (61 7) 3365 4522
[email protected]
(64 4) 386 0300 Ext 7456
(64 4) 386 0574
[email protected]
(1 561) 465 2400 Ext 449
(1 561) 461 2221
[email protected]
JOHNSON SEA-LINK EXPEDITION:
INDICATIVE RESEARCH PLANS FOR AUSTRALIAN WATERS
The map shows 4 possible cruise-plans for research activities in Australian waters, based on
indications of special interest from potential participants and assuming around 10 weeks of shiptime including transit: the 4 ‘legs’ break down as below. All distances and travel times are approximate. Final plans will be subject to further discussion with expedition members and will
depend heavily on discoveries made en route, on weather and on the time available.
Leg 1: approx. 10 days ex Hobart - Working on seamounts at 810m and 730m depth approx. 200km
and 450km south of port towards the South Tasmania Bank; then northeast to a third seamount at 823m
approx. 600km northeast before returning to Hobart.
Leg 2: approx. 15 days ex Brisbane - Exploring 6 seamounts working northwards from east of
Clarence Head: Stradbroke (1194m), Britannia (397m), Queensland (390m), Brisbane (1458m), Recorder (410m) and Fraser (344m) seamounts; dock at Gladstone.
Leg 3: approx. 15 days ex Gladstone - A long off-reef transect from east of Swain Reefs, north-west
towards Flinders Reefs, docking at Townsville.
Leg 4: approx. 14 days ex Townsville - A transect northwards from McDermott Bank to Bougainville,
Shark and Osprey Reefs, turning southwards to explore the area off-reef at Lizard Island, and docking at
Cairns.