Marine Scientists Set For New Voyage Of Undersea Discovery
3 June 2009
Marine
experts are hoping to discover colourful undersea coral gardens and
could potentially discover new species of animal life in a
previously unexplored deep sea habitat off the coast of
Scotland.
The team will be using state of the art
technology in a new survey commissioned by the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC) to explore and map the seabed in what
is one of the least studied areas of our seas. Anton Dohrn
Seamount, the first area under the spotlight, is an underwater
offshore mountain rising from the seabed at a depth of 2,100m. This
ancient volcano is in striking contrast to the surrounding flat
seabed and creates ideal conditions for an abundance of fish, coral
and sponges.
The fourteen strong team, including scientists
from JNCC, will set off from Aberdeen in July and spend three weeks
at sea mapping the seabed and recording their discoveries. If the
fragile habitat and marine life they hope to discover does exist,
recommendations could be made to government to ensure its
protection in future.
- ENDS -
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The survey will be conducted in July 2009
over three weeks and is funded by the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee. This survey is part of a wider offshore seabed
survey programme gathering data to support JNCC’s work identifying
potential offshore Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the EC
Habitats Directive for UK Government.
- The JNCC has a responsibility to identify
areas for protection in the offshore environment around the UK and
will work in collaboration with the British Geological Survey, the
Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth and MMT AB, a
Swedish marine survey company. High tech imaging equipment will be
lowered to the sea floor nearly 2,000m below (twice the height of
Mt Snowden in Wales) to capture video and photographs of what lies
beneath.
- The Joint Nature Conservation Committee
(JNCC) is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and
international nature conservation. Its work contributes to
maintaining and enriching biological diversity, conserving
geological features and sustaining natural systems. JNCC delivers
the UK and international responsibilities of the Council for Nature
Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council for
Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. Visit
the website.
- For more images, interviews and further
comment please contact the JNCC Press Office on 01733 866839, or
- For further information visit JNCC's
Marine
Protected Sites webpages.