Southeast Deep Coral Initiative: Exploring Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems off the Southeast U.S.: Image and Video Gallery: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Living in the Dark: Expedition in Search of Deep-sea Corals

This footage was collected during Leg 1 of the expedition.

The Expedition Team

Team photo for the expedition.

Chief Scientist Dr. Peter Etnoyer

Chief Scientist Dr. Peter Etnoyer of NOAA takes a selfie with the ROV Odysseus.

Map Showing the Areas Explored

Map showing the areas of exploration for the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI) expedition.

Swordfish Xiphius gladius

A swordfish Xiphius gladius at the ‘Wall in the North’ dive site.

Tinselfish Swimming Amoung Lophelia

A tinselfish swims among Lophelia thickets at Okeanos Ridge on the West Florida slope.

Lace Coral Entangled with Discarded Line

Lace coral entangled with discarded line at North Reed Site on the West Florida Slope at approximately 400 meters depth.

Coral Colonies

Colonies of bamboo coral (left), lace corals (center right), sea whip (right), and Leiopathes glaberrima black coral (back).

Low Relief Rocky Substrate

Low relief rocky substrate with bamboo coral, sponges (both lower right), Leiopathes glaberrima black coral colony, and a squat lobster (both top right).

Depth Information Along the West Florida Slope

Map comparing depth information along the West Florida slope collected from A) a multibeam echosounder on NOAA Ship Nancy Foster and B) the NOAA Coastal Relief Model.

The Engineering Department

The engineering department of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

The Engine Room

The engine room of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

The Engine Control Room

The engine control room of NOAA Nancy Foster.

Preparing ROV Odysseus for a Dive

Preparing ROV Odysseus for a dive on the West Florida slope.

Navigating ROV Odysseus

The team navigating ROV Odysseus on a dive.

Collecting a Sample

ROV Odysseus collecting a delicate fragment of the deep-sea coral.

Servicing ROV Odysseus

Installing the collection arm of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Odysseus.

Preparing ROV Odysseus

Preparing the ROV Odysseus for a dive from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

Processing Water Samples

Processing water samples collected during CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) casts to 500 meters depth.

ROV Control Room

Controlling ROV operations aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

Ralf Meyer

Ralf Meyer aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster docked in St. Petersburg, Florida, before the August 2017 Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI) mission to the West Florida slope.

The Bridge of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

Left to right: ENS Lee Shoemaker, ENS Sara Thompson, ENS Brandon Tao, Capt. Donn Pratt, ENS Hillary Fort, ENS Keith Hanson, and LCDR Tony Perry III on the bridge of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, transiting from port out to sea.

Readying Odysseus for Deployment

Left to right: AB Brendan Garvey, GVA Jason Gosine, BGL Leslie Allen, AB Tracy Sorgenfrei, AB Denek Salich, and CB Greg Walker readying the ROV Odysseus for deployment.

The Engineering Department

Left to right: CME Tim Olsen, 1AE Carlito Delapina, JUE Joe Clark, and 2AE Kyle Williams in the ship’s machine shop.

Stewards

Left to right: 2nd Cook Bob Burroughs and CS Lito Llena in the ship’s galley.

CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Sensing Instrument)

SST Samantha Martin with the ship’s CTD on the deck of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

The Ship’s ET Shop

Chief ET Keith Martin repairing a circuit board in the ship’s ET shop.

Deep-sea Coral Garden

A deep-sea coral garden in Madison-Swanson Marine Reserve off the west coast of Florida, protected in 2000.

Deep-sea Coral and Fish

Deep-sea coral and fish thrive in Madison-Swanson Marine Reserve.

Bottom Trawling Protection

Graph showing the cumulative percent of each U.S. Fishery Management Council’s Exclusive Economic Zone deeper than 200 meters that has been protected from bottom trawling.

The Deep Sea Coral Data Portal

The Deep Sea Coral Data Portal digital map showing known locations of corals (circles) and sponges (triangles).

Lophelia pertusa Thickets

Thickets of living and dead Lophelia pertusa colonies at Many Mounds.

Sampling Lophelia pertusa

Odysseus sampling a small fragment of Lophelia pertusa.

Coral Samples

Coral samples collected by remotely operated vehicle Odysseus.

Fragments of Lophelia pertusa

Fragments of Lophelia pertusa, including a rare orange color variety.

Deep-sea Coral Larva

Electron microscope image of a deep-sea coral larva approximately 0.15 millimeters long.

Preparing a Sample

A robotic arm of the ROV Odysseus removing the cap from a sampling quiver in preparation to carry a coral fragment to the surface.

Retreiving a Sample

A robotic arm of the ROV Odysseus, collecting a sample of the deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa for genetic analysis.

Preserving a Sample

Preserving a sample of coral collected on the August 2017 Southeast Deep Coral Initiative expedition aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

Map of Many Mounds Site

Map showing topography and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives within the Many Mounds site on the West Florida slope.

Black Coral on Ledge

The ledge feature of Many Mounds, on the West Florida slope, inhabited by black coral, squat lobsters, and small octocorals.

Ledge Feature of Many Mounds

Squat lobsters and small octocorals as well as shrimp, cup corals, and Darwin’s slimehead fish seen on the ledge feature of Many Mounds.

Golden Tilefish

Golden tilefish seen on the ledge feature at Many Mounds.

Lophelia pertusa

A rare sighting of orange Lophelia pertusa located at 500 meters depth at Many Mounds.

Squat Lobster Eumunida picta

Squat lobster Eumunida picta hanging out under a carbonate ledge.

Squat Lobster Dining

Squat lobster Eumunida picta dining out of another E. picta’s shell.

Corals on Long Mound

Corals Lophelia pertusa and Paramuricea sp. with associated fish Benthocometes sp. and Eumunida picta.

Squat Lobster on Black Coral

Chirostyloid (squat lobster) on black coral Leiopathes.

Goosefish

A goosefish (Lophiodes beroe) encountered on low relief hard bottom seafloor.

SEDCI's August 2017 Study Site

Map of a portion of the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative's August 2017 study site, including new high-resolution bathymetry data collected on the West Florida shelf.

Seafloor of Long Mound

Much of the seafloor of Long Mound is eroded carbonate that has been colonized by invertebrates such as tubeworms, leaving a pitted look.

Squat Bobster on Carbonate Ledge

A squat lobster hangs off the Long Mound carbonate ledge with a garden of tubeworms.

Section of Carbonate Ledge

A section of carbonate ledge running through the target sites of discovery for the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative expedition.

Readying the ROV Odysseus

Readying the ROV Odysseus, operated by Pelagic Research Services, to descend in a survey on the West Florida Shelf.

Surface Current Speed

Surface current speed in the Gulf of Mexico in July-August 2017.

Above the West Florida Shelf

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster stationed above the West Florida Shelf during ROV surveys.

Bamboo Coral

Bamboo coral captured by the ROV Odysseus near Long Mound on the West Florida Shelf .

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, which will support the 18-day mission.

Remotely Operated Vehicle Odysseus

The ROV Odysseus, operated by Pelagic Research Services.

Map of Operating Area

Map showing the operational area of the 2017 SEDCI expedition aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

CTD Carousel

The CTD Niskin bottle carousel of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.

SEDCI Focus Area

Map showing the three geographic regions in which the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI) will operate in 2016-2019.

Deep-Sea Corals

A diverse assemblage of deep-sea corals on the West Florida Escarpment.

Deep-Sea Coral Lophelia pertusa

A dense aggregation of the deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa.

Crabs Scavenging on Dead Coral

Several golden crabs scavenging on the dead coral matrix.

Bamboo Coral Colony

A large colony of a deep-sea bamboo coral.

Diversity of Deep-Sea Coral

A diversity of deep-sea coral species, including two species of octocorals, or sea fans.

Deep-sea Black Coral, Leiopathes glaberrima

Deep-sea black coral, Leiopathes glaberrima. Individuals of this species have been dated to be over 2,000 years old.

Coral and Squat Lobster

Photograph of deep-sea coral and a squat lobster on the West Florida Shelf at a depth of 550 meters.

Management Categories of Fishery Resources

Schematic showing different management categories of fishery resources.

Potential Habitat Areas

Map showing areas on the West Florida Shelf that are currently being considered as potential habitat areas of particular concern.

Fishing Restrictions Map

Map showing areas in the EEZ of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico where fishing with bottom contact gear is restricted.

Existing Multibeam Map

Map of the shelf and slope off the west coast of Florida showing areas that have previously been mapped using multibeam echosounders (in green).

Multibeam Mapping

Multibeam echosounders map the seafloor by emitting a beam of sound from the hull of the ship and recording the sound signal after it is reflected off the seafloor.

Multibeam Examples

Examples of real-time maps produced by multibeam echosounders during a previous expedition that mapped Pinellas II, an artificial reef that is part of the Pinellas County artificial reef program.

Oculina Coral

Scamp, snowy grouper, and other fish swimming amongst Oculina coral thickets.

Map of the Oculina Bank

Map of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) and Oculina Bank Experimental Closed Area.

Fish Amongst Oculina Coral

Black sea bass, scamp, and gag swimming around Oculina coral.

Habitat Suitability Model

Example map depicting the predicted likelihood of suitable habitat for Lophelia pertusa in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat Suitability Predictions

Examples of response curves showing the relationship between the predicted likelihood of habitat suitability for Lophelia pertusa (y-axis) and the values (x-axis) for datasets describing environmental conditions.

Southeast Deep Coral Initiative: Exploring Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems off the Southeast U.S.

Image and Video Gallery

Mission Logs

Image and Video Gallery

For Educators

Background Information

Media Resources

Meet the Explorers

Southeast Deep Coral Initiative: Exploring Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems off the Southeast U.S.

Image and Video Gallery

Mission Logs

Image and Video Gallery

For Educators

Background Information

Media Resources

Meet the Explorers

Related Links