Project: DeepCCZ

GBMF Grant Name: Closing Gaps in Knowledge About Biodiversity and Ecology of the Deep Sea to Better Assess the Impacts of Deep-Sea Mining

GBMF Grant Statement:  To generate a better understanding of the biodiversity oand ecology of a large deep-sea ecosystem prior to mining

Expected Measurements:  

• ​Shipboard underway data:  meteorological data, navigation data, and processed multibeam mapping data,
• processed CTD water-column environmental data (e.g., water temperature, pH, salinity, light),
• raw ROV video records and associated environmental sensor data
• raw free vehicle baited video and still imagery
• specimen capture records (ROV and trap - location, date, time, and all body measurements)
• processed DNA sequence data for captured animal specimens
• processed metagenomic DNA sequence data for microbial assemblages in sediment and water samples
• sediment community respiration and nutrient regeneration data
• isotopic data for sediment infaunal organisms

Anticipated Derived Data Products:

• Biodiversity, abundance, and species composition of benthic megafauna, mobile scavengers, and sediment microbes at each study location
• Sediment community function (respiration, nutrient regeneration, detrital processing) at each study location
• Genetic connectivity at species and population levels for key megafaunal and mobile scavenger species between study locations.