Ecosystems

Working in partnership with BOEM and the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, scientists from the USGS will embark on a 10-day voyage to the outer limits of the U.S. Pacific waters south of Hawai’i to conduct seafloor mapping and autonomous environmental DNA sampling in order to investigate and characterize the geology and biology of the Hawaiian abyssal plain.

Seafloor resource managers and modelers need seafloor maps that can be combined in GIS, modeling, and statistical analysis environments and related successfully to biologic and oceanographic data. The Marine Geomorphology, Evolution, and Habitats Project encompasses mapping activities and the development of new mapping systems and methodologies. The emphasis is on the role of geologic processes in...

The California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP) is a cooperative program to create a comprehensive coastal and marine geologic and habitat base map series for all of California's State waters.

The continental shelf and slope offshore California, Oregon, and Washington are home to deep-sea corals, chemosynthetic communities, and other sensitive habitats that could be impacted by the development of energy and mineral resources. The EXPRESS (Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems) campaign will map and characterize these special areas to help guide ocean management...

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, we are developing new and unique oceanographic and environmental archives from coral skeleton records to better understand the compounding effects of land-use and environmental change on coral reef health.

EXPRESS is a multi-year, multi-institution cooperative research campaign in deep sea areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, including the continental shelf and slope. EXPRESS data and information are intended to guide wise use of living marine resources and habitats, inform ocean energy and mineral resource decisions, and improve offshore hazard assessments.

USGS scientists are collaborating with multiple agencies to provide the esssential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments.

DISCOVRE ( DI versity, S ystematics and CO nnectivity of V ulnerable R eef E cosystems) is an integrated, multidisciplinary, international effort investigating the unique and fragile deep-sea coral environments from the microscopic level to the ecosystem level.

From June 12 to July 3, 2019, the USGS sailed onboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor with several other partners, seeking methane seeps along the seafloor of several underwater canyons off the coast of Oregon and Washington. On this cruise, USGS scientists will seek to understand how much methane is coming out of these seeps, how it travels through the water column, and its ultimate fate in...

Connectivity among coral communities influences the probability of speciation and contributes to their ability to adapt to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Results from this study will enhance our understanding of Gulf of Mexcio ecosystems with regional conservation initiatives to inform the restoration of degraded deepwater coral communities and preserve long-term viability of coastal...

Although out of sight to most, a diverse array of coral species thrive deep below the photic zone off U.S. coasts and worldwide. Deep-sea corals can be found at depths greater than 50m, where sunlight does not penetrate. Similar to shallow-water corals, larger sea fan and reef-forming deep-sea coral species create structural complexity in the deep sea, attracting fishes and invertebrates that...

Deep-sea canyons are complex environments encompassing a range of benthic habitats, including soft sediments along the axis of the canyon, and hard substrates along the canyon walls.