Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project

The IUCN Seamounts Project is currently underway, having set sail from Réunion on the 12th of November.

The GEF-funded Seamounts Project enables the ASCLME Project to extend its knowledge of the ASCLME region to the south, as far as the Subtropical Convergence and into the "roaring fourties".

The Seamounts Project will increase our understanding biodiversity and oceanography of southerly seamounts in the Indian Ocean and will help to formulate stragegies for managing and governing high seas (Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction) fisheries and marine protected areas, with a specific focus on seamounts.

Seamounts have been likened to oases in the "deserts" of the open ocean, supporting surprisingly diverse communities of animals in unexpected numbers. They also form important feeding and breeding grounds for many pelagic and deep ocean species and seabirds are often attracted to seamounts to feed.

One objective of the cruise is to explore possible reasons for this unexpected blossoming of life; the two best known hypotheses are "upwelling" and "Deep Scattering Layer trapping" - other mechanisms may well be at work too. The upwelling hypothesis suggest that seamounts may force nutrient-rich deep ocean currents towards the surface, where they fertilise the phytoplankton and cause a burst in productivity. The other hypothesis suggests that the organisms that comprise the deep scattering layer become trapped on the seamount once then attempt to descend back to their safe daytime depths, providing a food bonanza to the species that are associated with seamounts.

You can follow the expedition's discoveries on the 2009 Seamounts Cruise Blog and also on the BBC News Earth View site.

The Dr. Fridtjof Nansen is due to dock in Port Elizabeth on the 20th of December, bringing with it a treasure trove of deep sea biodiversity and oceanographic knowledge.

The expedition is supported by expertise and funding supplied by partner organisations including the Zoological Society of London, the EAF-Nansen project, the Institute of Marine Research, Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project; the Marine Ecology Laboratory, University of Reunion, the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility.