Gulf of Alaska Seamounts 2019

Past Expedition

Dates

July 21 – August 3, 2019

Location

Arctic

Overview

From July 21 – August 3, 2019, a multi-disciplinary and international team of scientists and media personnel sailed from Seward, Alaska, to the Gulf of Alaska Seamounts region onboard R/V Sikuliaq. This expedition employed an ecosystem perspective to investigate microbial communities in seawater and seafloor environments surrounding the seamounts; water column (planktonic) organisms; and invertebrate and fish benthic (seafloor) communities on and off the seamounts. The team also conducted observations of seabirds and marine mammals. This work will help us better understand the diversity of marine life in this underexplored region of economic importance that is also poised to undergo unprecedented change.

Inside the ROV control van, pilots and scientists alike are fascinated by the underwater world to be discovered.

Mission Summary - Wrapping It Up

Wait… the vehicle is settled… extend the arm… suction is on… slowly now… here he goes… HE IS IN!!!

August 4, 2019

The multinet is an arrangement of nets that can be opened and closed at particular water depths so that only the zooplankton of a specific depth is caught in each of the nets.

Small But Mighty

This cruise we are using two different types of stratified plankton net systems to cover the large size range of zooplankton that exist in the ocean.

August 3, 2019

The light sediment layer between the darker top and bottom layers tells a story of past geologic events.

Mysteries in the Mud

I’ve been a scientist for a pretty long time now, and one of the things I’ve learned over the years is that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know.

August 3, 2019

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Periphyllopsis braueri is a particularly large jelly of a distinctive red color.

Introducing: Jellies!

Dhugal Lindsay introduces a couple of animals encountered while diving the remotely operated vehicle Global Explorer through the ocean's midwater zone during the expedition.

August 2, 2019

Snowstorm Under the Sea

When you imagine the ocean, you might picture a tropical paradise like Hawaii with deep, clear blue waters – but most of the ocean doesn’t look like that at all! Those clear waters are actually a result of nutrient depletion that limits the growth of phytoplankton, the “plants” of the sea.

August 1, 2019

The Global Explorer ROV is being lifted over the side of the ship for a dive.

10 Years in the Making

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be on a boat in the Gulf of Alaska, working with scientists in July, diving at over a mile deep - I would have said “YA, RIGHT… I WISH”. Well, wishes come true now and then.

July 31, 2019

Eric Collins is taking a water sample from the CTD.

Hold Your Breath!

Like plants on land, sunlight-powered phytoplankton in the sea produce oxygen as a byproduct of their photosynthetic metabolism. And, like animals on land, animals and other heterotrophs in the sea respire that oxygen by breathing.

July 30, 2019

Callie Gesmundo is spending long hours on the ship’s bride observing seabirds and marine mammals.

Feathery Friends

Ahoy from the bird group (population on board: 1) aboard the R/V Sikuliaq! I’m Callie, the seabird observer on board.

July 29, 2019

The box corer is on deck and it is a success – there is mud!

A Rocky Start

It’s 11 o’clock at night, the sea is calm, the sky is foggy, but a beautiful shade of deep blue. Donned with hardhats and lifejackets, two scientists hold tag lags securing the box corer as the bosun and marine science tech guide the yellow frame off the deck and out over the water. We pull off the tag lines and watch the corer sink into the depths of the ocean. It’s our first station and our first deployment of the box corer, a device that samples sediment from the deep ocean.

July 27, 2019

Kate Ariola is learning how to “mouth a shackle” on the fishing net.

First Impressions

At first the Sikuliaq seemed like a daunting vessel to be on, what with all the cranes and moving parts that can knock you overboard, especially for my first time every being on a boat this large.

July 26, 2019

The CTD instrument is lowered into the water to measure the water column profiles.

Goldilocks and the Three ~~Bears~~ Plankton

As the remotely operated vehicle Global Explorer sinks through the water column on its way to explore the Gulf of Alaska Seamounts, it passes through the sunlit zone where phytoplankton grow before heading into the inky darkness of the deep sea.

July 26, 2019

This large purple sea cucumber is using its front tentacles to gather up food from the sediment at 2500 m depth.

The First Deep Venture

After what seems like a long time of preparing and transiting, but what in reality were only a couple days, we are finally taking our first samples.

July 25, 2019

Kelly Walker (left) and her team members are busy rinsing the catch from the beam trawl during night time trawling.

Something Fishy…

When I was asked if I wanted to join on another ROV cruise, I jumped on the chance.

July 24, 2019

Science crew is practicing to put on the survival suits in case of an emergency.

Safety First!

One of the most important things when being on a research vessel – or any vessel – is safety.

July 23, 2019

Sikuliaq docked in Seward Alaska, ready for her next cruise to the Gulf of Alaska Seamounts.

A Buzz of Activity

The beginning of a research cruise is like living in a beehive. A group of people, many of whom have not met before, meet together on a research vessel that many have not used before.

July 21, 2019

A trawl catch of the rich benthic fauna on the Arctic shelf at 50 meters depth showing lots of brittle stars, feather stars, and sea cucumbers.

The Seamount Gardens of the Deep Sea

The benthic – or seafloor - organisms – are the element that have garnered probably among the most scientific interest and curiosity about seamounts. The typically hard substrate of the seamount tops support a unique and highly diverse fauna.

July 19, 2019

This is a microscopic photo of a bacterium called Pelagibacter ubique, the most common bacterium in the ocean!

The Small and Mighty – Microbial Life

As best we can tell, life on Earth originated in the oceans and evolved as microscopic bacteria, algae, protists, and viruses. Billions of years later, microbes are still running the show in the world’s seas.

July 19, 2019

Side-scan sonar bathymetry of the Giacomini and Quinn seamounts in the Gulf of Alaska, which are target seamounts in this mission.

Mission Plan

Learn more about plans to explore the Gulf of Alaska, which is part of the northern-most portion of the north Pacific and is a productive system well known for its iconic species and extensive fisheries that supply US and international markets with high-quality seafood. The continental shelf system of the Gulf of Alaska is relatively well known, yet much less is understood about the deep portion of the Gulf.

July 19, 2019

Sabine's gull, like this immature bird and adults during the non-breeding season, are highly pelagic in both the Pacific and Atlantic, but they breed in the Arctic tundra.

Seabirds of the Northern Gulf of Alaska

In the northern Gulf of Alaska, as with all sub-arctic and Arctic regions, seabird communities and abundance change dramatically with the seasons. During spring, many birds migrate through and species richness is highest, with up to 56 species recorded during offshore surveys.

July 19, 2019

Beroe abyssicola is a comb jelly, which is a voracious predator in the deeper waters of the Gulf of Alaska up to the Arctic.

Gelatinous Zooplankton – the Elusive Drifters of the Deep

Some areas of the Gulf of Alaska have been studied for zooplankton, the small water column drifting organisms that make up an essential part of the marine food chain, for decades. However, collections have generally been confined to the continental shelf area of the Gulf of Alaska (200 meters, maximum depth).

July 9, 2019