| Title | Insights from the PharmaDEEP Expedition to the South Shetland Trench in the sub-Antarctic |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
| Author | Stewart, H A; Jamieson, A J |
| Source | Program and abstracts: 2017 GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; by Todd, B J; Brown, C J; Lacharité, M; Gazzola, V; McCormack, E; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8295, 2017 p. 110,
https://doi.org/10.4095/305930 (Open Access) |
| Links | GeoHab 2017
|
| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Meeting | 2017 GeoHab: Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping; Dartmouth, NS; CA; May 1-4, 2017 |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Todd, B J; Brown, C J;
Lacharité, M; Gazzola, V; McCormack, E; (2017). Program and abstracts: 2017 GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8295 |
| File format | pdf |
| Area | Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; South Shetland Islands; Drakes Passage; Antarctica |
| Lat/Long WENS | -63.0000 -54.0000 -61.0000 -63.0000 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; geophysics; mapping techniques; oceanography; marine environments; coastal studies; conservation; marine organisms; marine
ecology; resource management; biological communities; environmental studies; ecosystems; bacteria; bathymetry; submarine features; ocean trenches; cold regions research; core samples; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine; sonar surveys;
South Shetland Trench; Phytoplankton; Zooplankton; geological mapping; geological mapping techniques; biology; habitat mapping; habitat conservation; habitat management; high latitude mapping; pharmaceutical industry |
| Illustrations | sketch maps |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience, Ocean Management Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 26 |
| Abstract | The PharmaDeep Expedition was a EUROFLEETS2 funded project that combined traditional marine biological and geological exploration with the search for new bacterial 'extremophile' communities in the
quest for the next generation of pharmaceuticals.
The South Shetland Trench, located near the Antarctic Peninsula, is one of the few cryogenic, deep-sea trenches in the world. The Expedition aimed to collect marine organisms from
deep-and-cold-water habitats which may prove valuable pharmaceutical potential; to perform the first known biological and geological survey of the South Shetland Trench; and to compare the fauna and drivers controlling their distribution to other
trench ecosystems.
Between the 13th and 29th December 2015, 14 researchers from a range of disciplines sailed on the Spanish research vessel BIO Hesperides. The operational scientific days allocated to the project totaled 6 days during which time
4 baited lander deployments, 8 gravity core sites, 2 multi-cores, 3 beam trawls, 10 zooplankton hauls and 19 phytoplankton hauls were conducted. Additionally, 3148 km2 of multibeam echosounder data and around 600 line kilometres of Topas sub-bottom
data were acquired covering part the southern flank and trench floor of the study area.
Although the expedition objectives were met, this was not without its challenges, including permitting, a shortage of bunks, weather, sampling troubles, an
inordinate number of icebergs and Christmas.
We will present some of the technical and logistical challenges encountered working in this remote environment and summarize some of the key findings from the expedition. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 305930 |
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