DEEPSEAS Research Themes

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Hyperbaric Biology High-pressure ecology	Our new Pressure Lab provides a unique asset for the study of deep-sea organisms under pressurized conditions. The heart of the lab is the IPOCAMP (Incubateur Pressurisé pour l’Observation et la Culture d’Animeux Marins Profonds), enabling us to study the effects of pressure on the ecology and physiology of marine organisms. See also the ABYSS2100 project supported by the Total Foundation.
	NERC, and its reviewers, have assessed our new proposed core science programme (2007-2012) "Theme 5, Continental Margins and the Deep Ocean" and found it to be of a high scientific standard, consequently this programme will now be funded. Follow the link here to find out more about the DEEPSEAS Group's involvement in Oceans 2025 ... [more]
The Porcupine Area	The Porcupine Seabight and Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) have been a mainstay of the DEEPSEAS Group's research for some decades now. Of particular note are the large-scale spatial survey of the Seabight and the long-term time-series study of the Abyssal Plain. The PAP site is a major focus of our current core science programme "Oceans 2025". See also PAP Observatory website.
The UK Deep Seas	The deep-sea areas around the UK (largely to the north and west of Scotland) are a key area of recent research for the group (see AMES project). These areas are particularly rich in deep-water habitats, in the north they have a unique thermal regime, visit the DC-UK page for more information - deepseascape.
ROV-Based Science	Deep-diving remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are opening up new areas of deep-sea science, the DEEPSEAS Group is actively engaged in developing this science. For the first time the UK science community now has a deep-sea science vehicle: ISIS. Our SERPENT and DIEPS programmes access other ROVs through a novel partnership with the offshore industries.
The Crozet Isles	Les Îles Crozet, part of the Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), are a remote spot located in the far south of the Indian Ocean. They are also an ideal location to study the influence of changes in the quantity and quality of incoming flux on deep-sea benthic communities. Research around the Crozets (CROZEX & Benthic Crozet) is a main theme in our previous core science programme (BICEP) and a new NERC project. A special issue of Deep-Sea Research II based on the CROZEX cruises has now been published.
Deep-Water Corals	Although know from the outset of the science of deep-sea biology in the 1800s, deep-water corals have excited considerable interest in recent years. Working with our colleagues in the Challenger Division we discovered the "Darwin Mounds" in 1998 - in March 2004 the Darwin Mounds area was subject to a permanent ban on deep-water trawling making them the UK's first deep-sea protected site: deepseacape.org.
The European Deep Seas	The DEEPSEAS Group is an active driver of, and participant in, European deep-sea research. We are currently engaged in seamount research through the OASIS programme, studying canyons and other "hot spot" environments in the new HERMES programme, and members of the MarBEF Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning EU Network of Excellence .
The Arabian Sea	The Indian Ocean is the least know of the ice-free oceans, among many intuiging features it has the world's most extensive and intense oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The Group has been involved in major surveys of the Oman and Pakistan continental margins, researching the impact of the OMZ on benthic biodiversity and biogeochemistry.
The Polar Seas	The DEEPSEAS Group has recently ventured towards both poles - to the land of polar bears and narwals during an Autosub Under Ice mission, and to the land of peguins and seals as part of the international ANDEEP programme.
Mid-Ocean Ridges	Hydrothermal vents and their exotic chemosynthetic fauna are probably the best publicised deep-sea habitats. But do remember that chemosynthetic life does occur elsewhere in the deep sea: the ChEss (Biogeography of Chemosynthetic Ecosytems) project, hosted here at NOCS, will keep you informed. Mid-ocean ridges also provide physical barriers to the distribution of the deep-sea fauna, a new NERC consortium award (ECOMAR) will tackle this issue at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Taxonomic Research	Taxonomy is the key science underpinning all of biology and particularly biodiversity. The DEEPSEAS Group has particular expertise in the taxonomy of Foraminifera, Amphipoda and Echinoderma. (See also The Discovery Collections)
Personal Research Projects	Details of some of the personal research projects of members of the team can be found on their personal pages.
The Census of Marine Life	The Census of Marine Life (CoML) is a global network of researchers engaged in a ten-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans. There are a number of deep-sea CoML projects to which the DEEPSEAS Group contributes (CAML, CeDAMar, CenSeam, ChEss, CoMargE, MAR-ECO).