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.
Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype
Food-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes
Seasonal variability in particulate matter source and composition to the depositional zone of Baltimore Canyon, U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight
Biogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the Western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome
Insights into methane dynamics from analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at newly-discovered Atlantic Margin seeps
Macrofaunal communities associated with chemosynthetic habitats from the U.S. Atlantic margin: A comparison among depth and habitat types
Assessment of canyon wall failure process from multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) observations, U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Exploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
Population connectivity of deep-sea corals
- 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.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. Visit Media to see details.At Pamlico Canyon, canyon walls were covered in brinsingid starfish, cup corals, and a diversity of other corals including both octocorals and stony corals. 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.
DEEP SEARCH mission operating area 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.
Human occupied vehicle Alvin descends to the seafloor 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.
Comparison 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. RossFood-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 MienisSeasonal variability in particulate matter source and composition to the depositional zone of Baltimore Canyon, U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight
Submarine canyons are often hotspots of biomass and productivity in the deep sea. However, the majority of deep-sea canyons remain poorly sampled. Using a multi-tracer approach, results from a detailed geochemical investigation from a year-long sediment trap deployment reveals details concerning the source, transport, and fate of particulate matter to the depositional zone (1318 m) of Baltimore CAuthorsNancy G. Prouty, Furu Mienis, P. Campbell, E. Brendan Roark, Andrew Davies, Craig M. Robertson, Gerard Duineveld, Steve W. Ross, M. Rhodes, Amanda W.J. DemopoulosBiogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the Western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome
Over the last decade, publications on deep-sea corals have tripled. Most attention has been paid to Lophelia pertusa, a globally distributed scleractinian coral that creates critical three-dimensional habitat in the deep ocean. The bacterial community associated with L. pertusa has been previously described by a number of studies at sites in the Mediterranean Sea, Norwegian fjords, off Great BritaAuthorsChristina A. Kellogg, Dawn B. Goldsmith, Michael A. GrayInsights into methane dynamics from analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at newly-discovered Atlantic Margin seeps
The recent discovery of active methane venting along the US northern and mid-Atlantic margin represents a new source of global methane not previously accounted for in carbon budgets from this region. However, uncertainty remains as to the origin and history of methane seepage along this tectonically inactive passive margin. Here we present the first isotopic analyses of authigenic carbonates and mAuthorsNancy G. Prouty, Diana Sahy, Carolyn D. Ruppel, E. Brendan Roark, Dan Condon, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Amanda W.J. DemopoulosMacrofaunal communities associated with chemosynthetic habitats from the U.S. Atlantic margin: A comparison among depth and habitat types
Hydrocarbon seeps support distinct benthic communities capable of tolerating extreme environmental conditions and utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. In recent years, several locations of methane seepage have been mapped along the U.S. Atlantic continental slope. In 2012 and 2013, two newly discovered seeps were investigated in this region: a shallow site near Baltimore Canyon (BCSAuthorsJill R. Bourque, Craig M. Robertson, Sandra Brooke, Amanda W.J. DemopoulosAssessment of canyon wall failure process from multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) observations, U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Over the last few years, canyons along the northern U.S. Atlantic continental margin have been the focus of intensive research examining canyon evolution, submarine geohazards, benthic ecology and deep-sea coral habitat. New high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives in the major shelf-breaching and minor slope canyons, provided the opportunity to investigate thAuthorsJason D. Chaytor, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Uri S. ten Brink, Christopher D. P. Baxter, Andrea M. Quattrini, Daniel S. BrothersExploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
The continental margin off the northeastern United States (NEUS) contains numerous, topographically complex features that increase habitat heterogeneity across the region. However, the majority of these rugged features have never been surveyed, particularly using direct observations. During summer 2013, 31 Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives were conducted from 494 to 3271 m depth across a varieAuthorsAndrea Quattrini, Martha S. Nizinski, Jason Chaytor, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, E. Brendan Roark, Scott France, Jon A. Moore, Taylor P. Heyl, Peter J. Auster, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Kelley P. Elliott, Brian R. C. Kennedy, Elizabeth A. Lobecker, Adam Skarke, Timothy M. ShankPopulation connectivity of deep-sea corals
Identifying the scale of dispersal among habitats has been a challenge in marine ecology for decades (Grantham et al., 2003; Kinlan & Gaines, 2003; Hixon, 2011). Unlike terrestrial habitats in which barriers to dispersal may be obvious (e.g. mountain ranges, rivers), few absolute barriers to dispersal are recognizable in the sea. Additionally, most marine species have complex life cycles in whichAuthorsCheryl L. Morrison, Amy Baco, Martha S. Nizinski, D. Katharine Coykendall, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Walter Cho, Tim Shank