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The Ocean Census Arctic Deep Expedition has documented extraordinary biodiversity living thousands of metres below the Arctic surface, in a region now threatened by ocean warming and deep seabed mining.
Shrimps covered in hairy bacteria feasting on methane, stalked jellyfish resembling underwater flowers, armoured crustaceans, forests of tube worms, fish with antifreeze proteins in their blood, and animals living with bacteria that can turn toxic chemicals into energy are just a few of the hundreds of specimens collected by the expedition. These findings provide a glimpse into the diverse life in this highly specialised ecosystem.
The Ocean Census Arctic Deep Expedition took place in May 2024 aboard the Norwegian Research Vessel Kronprins Haakon. The survey sites extended 1200 km north of Norway into the Greenland sea, with 36 scientists and specialists from 15 countries taking part. The expedition used REV Ocean’s specialised scientific remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Aurora to explore, sample, and catalogue the species diversity of this little-explored region.
The discoveries were made at depths ranging from 2000 to 3700 metres across some of the Arctic’s most extreme habitats, including hydrothermal vents, methane ‘cold seeps’, mid-ocean ridges and abyssal plains.
“The Arctic hydrothermal vents have communities that are different from anywhere else in the world" - Prof. Alex Rogers, Ocean Census Science Director
The ‘hairy’ shrimps were found on hydrothermal vents at depths of 3000 metres in the Greenland Sea. The ‘hair’ that covers their bodies is actually bacteria colonies that convert the highly toxic and corrosive hydrogen sulphides gushing from the seafloor into energy.
First discovered in 1977, this process of ‘chemosynthesis’ contrasts with the rest of life on Earth that relies on photosynthesis, turning sunlight into energy. In chemosynthesis bacterial metabolism of chemicals is the start of the food chain around vents and cold seeps, creating islands of life in the deep. The same geochemical processes that feed chemosynthesis also create the mineral deposits sought after for deep-sea mining. Evolutionary biologists believe chemosynthesis in environments like some types of hydrothermal vents could have sparked the creation of life on Earth.
While some species discovered during the expedition may not be new to science, they are each unveiling the intricate web of life thriving in the Arctic Ocean’s depths, a fragile ecosystem increasingly threatened by climate change.
“These Arctic seeps and vents show us that life is intimately connected to the global climate. We are seeing the aftermath of past climatic events in patterns of life here, and that shows us that any climatic event in the future will affect all deep ocean life,” continued Professor Copley.
With Norway becoming the first country to approve commercial deep-sea mining within their territorial waters in January 2024, it is vital to study and understand these ecosystems now.
“We urgently need to build up a baseline that will give us the possibility to understand the changes in the future. The past is the key to the present. The present is the key to the future,” added Prof Giuliana Panieri, Arctic University of Norway, the co-lead of the Ocean Census Arctic Deep Expedition.
Further imaging, sequencing, and taxonomy will be completed in October at the Ocean Census Species Discovery Workshop at the University of the Arctic, Tromsø, Norway, to identify which species are new to science.
The Ocean Census Arctic Deep Expedition is a partnership between the University of the Arctic, Tromsø, Norway, REV Ocean, and Ocean Census. The discoveries and extraordinary imagery of life in the depths of the Arctic Ocean have been released ahead of World Ocean Day, 8th June.