Researchers leading a deep-sea expedition off the coast of Chile have managed to potentially uncover more than 100 previously unknown marine species as well as a handful of never-before-seen underwater mountains.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute, an oceanographic research nonprofit, accepted the project named “Seamounts of the Southeast Pacific,” which focuses on seamounts (underwater mountains) in three areas: the Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges, and the Juan Fernández and Nazca-Desventuradas marine parks.
The southeast Pacific is also a very geologically active region and is covered in hydrothermal vents that can help sustain a wide variety of life.
Researchers used the nonprofit’s research vessel, Falkor (too), to conduct their research. The team also used an underwater robot capable of descending more than 14,000 feet, to bring data from ten seamounts back to the surface in order to advance Chile’s marine protection efforts.
A squat lobster documented in coral at a depth of 669 meters on Seamount JF2. An international group of scientists aboard a recent Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition believe they have discovered more than 100 new species living on seamounts off the coast of Chile, including deep-sea corals, glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, and squat lobsters.
After mapping about 20,400 square miles (52,800 square kilometers) of ocean, the team found four previously unknown seamounts. One of which is 11,591 feet above the seafloor, making it more than four times taller than Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
“Every single seamount had a different type of ecosystem on it,” said Hannah Nolan, an expedition and community outreach specialist for the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
The Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges, which are made up of two chains of more than 200 seamounts that stretch a combined 1,800 miles, ended up being a treasure trove for sea sponges, said Javier Sellanes, a scientist at the Universidad Católica del Norte, who led the research. Sellanes said that only two species had previously been reported for the area, and that they can now add 40 different species to that list.
A Chaunacops (a genus of bony fish in the sea toad family Chaunacidae) is seen at a depth of 1388.65 meters on Seamount SF2 inside the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park.
"We far exceeded our hopes on this expedition," said Sellanes. "You always expect to find new species in these remote and poorly explored areas, but the amount we found, especially for some groups like sponges, is mind-blowing."
The discovery is not only a huge win for the field of science, but for the world of conservation as well. The plethora of new species found within the Juan Fernández and Nazca-Desventuradas parks are legally protected from the threats of trawling—fishing by pulling and dragging a large net across the seafloor—as well as deep-sea mining. But the seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges are currently unprotected.
The researchers will have to bring their samples and findings to a lab to determine if their discoveries include new species. The second expedition aboard Falkor (too) will take place on February 24.