USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats Active
USGS scientists are collaborating with multiple agencies to provide the esssential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments.
The Science Issue and Relevance: DEEP SEARCH (Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats) is a multi-year, multi-agency study to characterize deep-sea ecosystems of the U.S. Mid- and South Atlantic. Sponsored by National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), this project is a collaborative effort between Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA-OER), and USGS. USGS will provide leadership and coordination of interagency and collaborative research.
To better inform potential offshore energy development and other deep-sea management needs, USGS scientists will contribute expertise in a variety of disciplines. USGS will create detailed bathymetric and geological maps and characterize seafloor and sub-seafloor geology and geological processes in the region, providing the essential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments, including the benthic ecology and seafloor hazards. USGS research on faunal community analysis, distribution, and population connectivity, and associated environmental data will provide information needed for refining habitat suitability models for the region. The application of environmental molecular sequencing (eDNA) will complement the traditional taxonomic approaches, improving our ability to monitor changes in biodiversity of these environments. USGS research on age and growth of deep-sea corals and assessing deep-sea biological productivity, nutrient regime, and microbial communities establish environmental constraints on healthy deep-sea habitats, providing information needed for impact assessments. Providing critical baseline information on the location, biodiversity, and community structure of sensitive benthic communities, as well as seafloor hazards within these outer continental shelf (OCS) environments will facilitate decisions regarding areas to avoid for energy exploration and enable refined habitat predictive modeling of species distributions and connectivity used by BOEM and NOAA.
USGS DEEP SEARCH Objectives:
- Explore, characterize, and monitor benthic communities and associated food webs, from microbes to fishes
- Describe the oceanographic, geological, and geochemical conditions associated with seafloor and sub-seafloor environments including multi-scale characterization via mapping and geophysics, hazards and marine resource assessment
- Apply population genetics and larval dispersal models to model the distribution of habitats and fauna
- Examine the paleoecology of deep-sea coral and seep habitats providing critical information on the vulnerability of these environments to natural and anthropogenic change and their time-scales for recovery.
- Examine the sensitivity of habitat-structuring fauna and associated communities to natural and anthropogenic disturbance
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Using autonomous underwater vehicles, submersibles, and research vessels, this study will characterize multiple deep-sea habitats, including deep-sea corals, submarine canyons and seeps. Sampling will concentrate on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, from Virginia to the Georgia/Florida border. In situ samples of animals, sediments, rocks, and water within different habitats, high resolution multibeam mapping, geophysical surveys, and water column profiling, coupled with data from benthic landers will be used to address each of the USGS study objectives.
Future Steps: USGS DEEP SEARCH research will evaluate the importance of different habitat types (canyon, seep, deep-sea corals) to local and regional benthic abundance and biodiversity, and the trophodynamics of these systems. Geological and geophysical analyses will improve our understanding of seafloor hazards within the region. Results from this study will provide an important baseline dataset for future monitoring and assessment and will enable comparisons to similar habitats in other regions.
The USGS has a long-term commitment to assisting BOEM with their information needs in OCS regions. BOEM is concerned with preserving and protecting hard-bottom communities, including deep-sea corals and chemosynthetic habitats, as the need for oil and gas exploration, and wind energy increases on the U.S. Atlantic shelf and slope.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Genetic diversity and connectivity of chemosynthetic cold seep mussels from the U.S. Atlantic margin
New geochemical tools for investigating resource and energy functions at deep-sea cold seeps using amino-acid δ15N in chemosymbiotic mussels (Bathymodiolus childressi)
The role of habitat heterogeneity and canyon processes in structuring sediment macrofaunal communities associated with hard substrate habitats in Norfolk Canyon, USA
Molecular indicators of methane metabolisms at cold seeps along the United States Atlantic margin
Submarine canyons influence macrofaunal diversity and density patterns in the deep-sea benthos
Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons
Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Molecular characterization of Bathymodiolus mussels and gill symbionts associated with chemosynthetic habitats from the U.S. Atlantic margin
Deep search: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype
DEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Food-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes
- Overview
USGS scientists are collaborating with multiple agencies to provide the esssential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments.
The Science Issue and Relevance: DEEP SEARCH (Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats) is a multi-year, multi-agency study to characterize deep-sea ecosystems of the U.S. Mid- and South Atlantic. Sponsored by National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), this project is a collaborative effort between Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA-OER), and USGS. USGS will provide leadership and coordination of interagency and collaborative research.
To better inform potential offshore energy development and other deep-sea management needs, USGS scientists will contribute expertise in a variety of disciplines. USGS will create detailed bathymetric and geological maps and characterize seafloor and sub-seafloor geology and geological processes in the region, providing the essential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments, including the benthic ecology and seafloor hazards. USGS research on faunal community analysis, distribution, and population connectivity, and associated environmental data will provide information needed for refining habitat suitability models for the region. The application of environmental molecular sequencing (eDNA) will complement the traditional taxonomic approaches, improving our ability to monitor changes in biodiversity of these environments. USGS research on age and growth of deep-sea corals and assessing deep-sea biological productivity, nutrient regime, and microbial communities establish environmental constraints on healthy deep-sea habitats, providing information needed for impact assessments. Providing critical baseline information on the location, biodiversity, and community structure of sensitive benthic communities, as well as seafloor hazards within these outer continental shelf (OCS) environments will facilitate decisions regarding areas to avoid for energy exploration and enable refined habitat predictive modeling of species distributions and connectivity used by BOEM and NOAA.
USGS DEEP SEARCH Objectives:
- Explore, characterize, and monitor benthic communities and associated food webs, from microbes to fishes
- Describe the oceanographic, geological, and geochemical conditions associated with seafloor and sub-seafloor environments including multi-scale characterization via mapping and geophysics, hazards and marine resource assessment
- Apply population genetics and larval dispersal models to model the distribution of habitats and fauna
- Examine the paleoecology of deep-sea coral and seep habitats providing critical information on the vulnerability of these environments to natural and anthropogenic change and their time-scales for recovery.
- Examine the sensitivity of habitat-structuring fauna and associated communities to natural and anthropogenic disturbance
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Using autonomous underwater vehicles, submersibles, and research vessels, this study will characterize multiple deep-sea habitats, including deep-sea corals, submarine canyons and seeps. Sampling will concentrate on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, from Virginia to the Georgia/Florida border. In situ samples of animals, sediments, rocks, and water within different habitats, high resolution multibeam mapping, geophysical surveys, and water column profiling, coupled with data from benthic landers will be used to address each of the USGS study objectives.
Future Steps: USGS DEEP SEARCH research will evaluate the importance of different habitat types (canyon, seep, deep-sea corals) to local and regional benthic abundance and biodiversity, and the trophodynamics of these systems. Geological and geophysical analyses will improve our understanding of seafloor hazards within the region. Results from this study will provide an important baseline dataset for future monitoring and assessment and will enable comparisons to similar habitats in other regions.
The USGS has a long-term commitment to assisting BOEM with their information needs in OCS regions. BOEM is concerned with preserving and protecting hard-bottom communities, including deep-sea corals and chemosynthetic habitats, as the need for oil and gas exploration, and wind energy increases on the U.S. Atlantic shelf and slope.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 25Genetic diversity and connectivity of chemosynthetic cold seep mussels from the U.S. Atlantic margin
BackgroundDeep-sea mussels in the subfamily Bathymodiolinae have unique adaptations to colonize hydrothermal-vent and cold-seep environments throughout the world ocean. These invertebrates function as important ecosystem engineers, creating heterogeneous habitat and promoting biodiversity in the deep sea. Despite their ecological significance, efforts to assess the diversity and connectivity of thAuthorsDanielle M. DeLeo, Cheryl Morrison, Mariki Sei, Veronica J. Salamone, Amanda Demopoulos, Andrea M. QuattriniNew geochemical tools for investigating resource and energy functions at deep-sea cold seeps using amino-acid δ15N in chemosymbiotic mussels (Bathymodiolus childressi)
In order to reconstruct the ecosystem structure of chemosynthetic environments in the fossil record, geochemical proxies must be developed. Here, we present a suite of novel compound-specific isotope parameters for tracing chemosynthetic production with a focus on understanding nitrogen dynamics in deep-sea cold seep environments. We examined the chemosymbiotic bivalve Bathymodiolus childressi froAuthorsNatasha Vokhshoori, Matt McCarthy, Hilary Close, Amanda Demopoulos, Nancy G. ProutyThe role of habitat heterogeneity and canyon processes in structuring sediment macrofaunal communities associated with hard substrate habitats in Norfolk Canyon, USA
Topographic and hydrodynamic complexity in submarine canyons promotes steep gradients in food availability and geophysical parameters which affect ecological assemblages and beta diversity. While habitat heterogeneity in submarine canyons is known to support diverse and abundant megafaunal communities, due to difficulty in sampling little is known about infaunal communities adjacent to hard substrAuthorsJill Bourque, Amanda Demopoulos, Craig M. Robertson, Furu MienisMolecular indicators of methane metabolisms at cold seeps along the United States Atlantic margin
A lipid biomarker study was undertaken to determine the microbial composition and variability in authigenic carbonates and associated soft bottom habitats from the Norfolk and the Baltimore Canyon seep fields along the US mid-Atlantic margin. Results from this study capture a distinct molecular signal from methane oxidizing archaea, including archaeol (I), sn-2-hydroxyarchaeol, pentamethylicosaneAuthorsNancy G. Prouty, Pamela L. Campbell, Hilary Close, Jennifer F. Biddle, Sabrina BeckmannSubmarine canyons influence macrofaunal diversity and density patterns in the deep-sea benthos
Submarine canyons are often morphologically complex features in the deep sea contributing to habitat heterogeneity. In addition, they act as major conduits of organic matter from the shallow productive shelf to the food deprived deep-sea, promoting gradients in food resources and areas of sediment resuspension and deposition. This study focuses on the Baltimore and Norfolk canyons, in the westernAuthorsCraig M. Robertson, Amanda Demopoulos, Jill Bourque, Furu Mienis, Gerard Duineveld, Mark Lavaleye, R. Koivisto, S. Brooke, S. Ross, M. Rhode, A. DaviesBenthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons
The imperative for finding, cataloging, and understanding continental margin diversity derives from the many key functions, goods and services provided by margin ecosystems and by an increasingly deleterious human footprint on our continental slopes (Levin and Dayton 2009). Progress in seafloor mapping technology and direct observation has revealed unexpected heterogeneity, with a mosaic of habitaAuthorsCraig M. Robertson, Jill Bourque, Amanda DemopoulosExamination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel, BathymoAuthorsAmanda Demopoulos, Jennifer McClain Counts, Jill Bourque, Nancy Prouty, Brian Smith, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Carolyn RuppelMolecular characterization of Bathymodiolus mussels and gill symbionts associated with chemosynthetic habitats from the U.S. Atlantic margin
Mussels of the genus Bathymodiolus are among the most widespread colonizers of hydrothermal vent and cold seep environments, sustained by endosymbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria. Presumed species of Bathymodiolus are abundant at newly discovered cold seeps on the Mid-Atlantic continental slope, however morphological taxonomy is challenging, and their phylogenetic affinities remain unestablishedAuthorsDolly (Katharine) Coykendall, Robert S. Cornman, Nancy G. Prouty, Sandra Brooke, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Cheryl L. MorrisonDeep search: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Led by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and OER is an interagency partnership to explore and characterize sensitive deepwater habitats of the U.S. mid- and south Atlantic deep-sea habitats. Sponsored by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, the study has brought together scientists from six U.S. academic institutions and five USGSAuthorsErik E. Cordes, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Michael Rasser, Caitlin AdamsComparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype
Cold-water corals provide critical habitats for a multitude of marine species, but are understudied relative to tropical corals. Primnoa pacifica is a cold-water coral prevalent throughout Alaskan waters, while another species in the genus, Primnoa resedaeformis, is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean. This study examined the V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene after amplifying and pyrosequenciAuthorsDawn B. Goldsmith, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Michael A. Gray, Robert P. Stone, Rhian G. Waller, Sandra D. Brooke, Steve W. RossDEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Launched in August 2017, Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats (DEEP SEARCH) is a multiyear, multi-agency study to characterize the deep-sea ecosystems of the US Mid- and South Atlantic (Figure 1). The study is funded through an interagency partnership between NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the US Geological Survey, and it is sponsoredAuthorsErik E. Cordes, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Gregory Boland, Caitlin AdamsFood-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes
Examination of food webs and trophic niches provide insights into organisms' functional ecology, yet few studies have examined trophodynamics within submarine canyons, where the interaction of canyon morphology and oceanography influences habitat provision and food deposition. Using stable isotope analysis and Bayesian ellipses, we documented deep-sea food-web structure and trophic niches in BaltiAuthorsAmanda W.J. Demopoulos, Jennifer McClain-Counts, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke, Furu Mienis - News