USGS CMG 03039 Metadata

Study of benthic habitats, biota, and geologic substrate at Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of Mexico, using sampling equipment
and ROV-Innovator; also investigation of deep-sea corals at deep sites in
Mississippi Canyon and surrounding areas

Samples and Chemical Analysis; Bathymetric Maps; Bottom video, digital
still photos, samples of benthos and substrate, multibeam bathymetry (all
archived by NOAA and participating biologists except approximately 12 rock/coral
samples and 2 bottom water samples retained by USGS);water samples will be
analyzed for 14C.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of
Exploration (OE) sponsored a recent cruise on the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown to
explore deep-water-coral habitats (at depths ranging from about 200 to 2,000 ft)
along the shelf edge and in canyons of the northern Gulf of Mexico, including
sites previously mapped by USGS emeritus scientist Jim Gardner and others. Some
topographic features in the Gulf of Mexico have been identified as crucial
spawning sites for commercially important fishes and reef-building deep-water
corals. Cruise participants sought to learn more about the deep-water-coral
systems and their inhabitants, whose abundance, extent, and diversity in the
gulf are poorly understood. A better understanding of these fragile and
potentially valuable resources can assist management decisions in this region of
extensive human activity.

The USGS participated in this cruise as part of its ongoing commitment to
provide geologic-science support to NOAA in its characterization and management
of the resources of national marine sanctuaries and other important habitats.

The cruise departed from Panama City, FL, on September 21 and ended in Gulfport,
MS, on October 2, successfully navigating the difficult End-of-Fiscal-Year
Passage. [Note to non-USGS readers: it is logistically complex to conduct field
operations across the start of the Federal Government's new fiscal year, which
begins on Oct. 1.] The primary device used for data collection was Sonsub's
remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Innovator 12, a working-class ROV used primarily
on offshore oil rigs and pipelines. Cruise personnel conducted 11 ROV dives at
deep sites near Mississippi Canyon, Green Canyon, and Viosca Knoll and at
shallower sites at Diaphus Bank and West Flower Garden Bank, as well as some
multibeam bathymetric mapping.  Samples of fish, deep-sea corals, echinoderms,
crustaceans, algae, mollusks, sponges, rocks, tube worms, water, and sediment
were collected by using the ROV. The dives were documented by about 50 hours of
video footage and several hundred still photographs and samples.

The science plan was designed by personnel from the Flower Garden Banks National
Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) and the University of Alabama, Dauphin Island (DI).
Chief scientists were G.P. Schmahl (FGBNMS) and Will Schroeder (DI, not on
board); John McDonough (OE) served as cruise coordinator. John Bratton (USGS,
Woods Hole, MA) provided input on geologic framework of habitats, hard-substrate
lithology, sedimentology, and influence of sea-level change on the systems.
Thirteen other scientists and science-support personnel participated, including
Emma Hickerson (FGBNMS), Doug Weaver (FGBNMS), Mary Wicksten (Texas A&M
University), Peter Etnoyer (Marine Conservation Biology Institute), Susanne
Fredericq (University of Louisiana, Lafayette), Ron Hill (National Marine
Fisheries Service, Galveston, TX), Julie Olson (University of Alabama), Sandra
Brooke (Oregon Institute of Marine Biology), and Brett Phaneuf (Texas A&M
University). Staff from C&C Technologies, Inc., were responsible for underwater
navigation.

ROV Innovator 12 (SONSUB, INC.).

http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2003/11/fieldwork.html



http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03mex/welcome.html