Searching for more

BEAUFORT — Underwater exploration is not unusual off the coast of North Carolina, but a team of researchers who left Beaufort Tuesday is headed deeper than most.

Their focus is the region’s deep-sea coral habitats that, at depths of 1,600 feet to more than 2,600 feet, have been described as “underwater wildernesses.”

University of North Carolina at Wilmington marine scientist Steve Ross said the more that they learn about deepwater coral ecosystems here and beyond, the better they can help in their preservation.

“These habitats are potentially irreplaceable. It has taken them tens of thousands and perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years to develop; and if they are destroyed, they may never be replaced. So there’s a strong conservation aspect to it,” said Ross, who is heading the team of researchers from six other universities and agencies, including three European scientists.

The deep-sea coral cruise off North Carolina is scheduled to continue through Dec. 9 and is the final in a series of four cruises held this year off the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

The cruises have taken place as the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council has paved the way for the protection of more than 23,000 square miles of complex deepwater corals extending from North Carolina to Florida.

Ross said the threats to the deep-sea corals include deep-sea fishing and energy exploration.

But as final preparations for the trip were being made Monday aboard the research vessel Cape Hatteras, thoughts were on the potential discoveries to be made and the benefits that can come from the research at hand.

Amanda Demopoulos, a benthic ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey studies the organisms associated with deep coral.

Advances in technology and equipment over the past decade have made the deep-sea corals more accessible, but they are still just beginning in terms of long-term research.

“We’re really still at the cusp of understanding these deep-coral ecosystems,” Demopoulos said.

Previous Ross-led explorations of the deep water coral habitats of the Atlantic has resulted in the discovery of numerous new species of marine life, including fish, crabs and a new genus of starfish, according to a UNCW news release.

Two benthic landers will be deployed during the cruise and will remain in the deep reefs for up to a year to monitor and record physical, chemical and biological activity.

Like the shallow-water corals researchers have come to know well, the deep-water corals are proving to be diverse and valuable ecosystems.

“The ocean is only as healthy as the systems that are supported within it, so in order for us to maintain a healthy ocean we need to enhance our understanding of these systems so we can help preserve and protect them,” Demopoulos said.

Contact Jannette Pippin at 910-382-2557 or jpippin@freedomenc.com.