| Description |
This interagency study will focus on the exploration and investigation of deepwater biological communities located in U.S. federal waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean, potentially including areas offshore of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In addition to a focus on hard substrate habitats, some study of soft bottom and water column environments will also be included. The overarching goal for this study is to obtain an understanding of the offshore Atlantic benthic environment as it relates to the potential future development of energy and marine minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) managed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which has the dual mission of environmental protection and responsible resource development. As a follow-on to a previous Atlantic canyons study, one of the focus areas of this study will include submarine canyons south of Norfolk Canyon. A larger portion of the study will focus on other sensitive deepwater ecosystems in the region, including chemosynthetic communities related to hydrocarbon seeps, areas with known presence of deepwater corals, and previously unexplored areas deemed likely to possess deepwater coral ecosystems. Additional exploration of areas with known or likely hard bottom is needed to better understand the distribution and disturbance sensitivity of associated biological communities. The resulting information will be used to develop appropriate protective measures designed to prevent, minimize, and/or mitigate impacts.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY INCLUDE: (1) Exploration and study of selected habitats that will refine scientific understanding of the distribution and species diversity of hard bottom communities in the mid-Atlantic slope area, specifically on the continental shelf and slope between a depth of approximately 200 and 3,000 m. Cruises will target three separate ecosystem areas including canyons south of Norfolk Canyon, and focus on deep coral habitats along with recently discovered gas seeps and associated chemosynthetic communities ; (2) Characterize substantial coral and chemosynthetic communities occurring in both hard and soft substrates, including associated megafauna and measures of relevant environmental conditions; (3) Develop or improve assessment methodologies for correlation of modeling and remote sensing information with the potential presence of sensitive biological communities; and (4) Determine degree of sensitivity of these ecosystems to anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., displaced sediments) using a variety of approaches. Additionally, a portion of the exploration and research effort will be directed at geomorphology investigations, including stability. The first field sampling cruise is anticipated to occur during September 2017, with two more mid-year (spring/summer) sampling cruises in the second and third years, with the remaining time dedicated to completion of all deliverables including analyses, synthesis of results, and final reports. |
