Extract from ABC News
In 2019, the Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker Amundsen travelled through some of the iciest waters of the north Atlantic Ocean just off Greenland.
Key points:
- Researchers reveal their discoveries after five years studying the deep Atlantic Ocean
- They found 12 new species, including moss animals
- Scientists fear ocean acidity is contributing to the decay of coral
On board were scientists from one of the largest oceanic research projects in the world.
It is called the ATLAS project and it has just handed down the findings of its five-year study of the Atlantic Ocean.
After sending special robotic landers to the lowest depths of the ocean, it brought back a trove of scientific riches.
Among them was the discovery of 12 new deep-sea species, including a coral growth called Epizoanthus martinsae.
The species lives on black corals up to 400 metres below the ocean surface.
A moss animal, or bryozoan, named Microporella funbio was also discovered. The researchers found it in an undersea mud volcano off the Spanish coast.
Another moss animal called Antropora gemarita, which feeds on particles of food suspended in the water, was identified.
The team also found up to 35 new examples of species in areas where they were previously not known to exist.
The research was not limited to new species, with scientists also mapping currents and discovering a field of hydrothermal vents, or hot springs, in an area known as the Azores.
Robots 'hands and eyes' of scientists
The sea mosses, molluscs and corals have previously gone undetected because the deep ocean has been explored so little.
Murray Roberts from the University of Edinburgh led the ATLAS project and said the research showed how little was understood about the ocean.
Professor Roberts said the robotic landers used as part of the project were remotely operated vehicles tethered to the surface and included cameras and lights.
"They truly are the hands and the eyes of the scientists in the study," he said.
But the new species may already be under threat.
Coral condition 'like osteoporosis'
The researchers found 50 per cent of cold-water coral habitats were at risk from climate change as oceans absorbed up to one-third of the carbon in the atmosphere.
Further, they found 19 per cent of deep-sea ecosystem services were at high risk from ocean acidification and fisheries.
They found major currents of the Atlantic had been slowed because of climate change.
Professor Roberts said their study demonstrated the impact of the sea becoming slightly more acidic from absorbing carbon.
"We face the prospect that the corals of the deep sea are changing," he said.
"Their skeletons are getting more porous as that slightly acidic sea water corrodes and damages their skeleton.
"That's attacking the very foundations of huge deep-sea coral reefs. Predictions are showing the suitability of the habitats really collapsing over the next 100 years."
The project included more than 70 scientists from 13 countries.
The project has concluded, but researchers have launched a new study involving South American researchers to look at the south Atlantic until 2023.
ATLAS project 'gold standard' in research
Marine geologist at James Cook University Robin Beaman said the ATLAS project was the "gold standard" in marine research because it brought together many researchers and government agencies.
"These are effective because you involve a lot more people, a lot more equipment and you can do time-series," Dr Beaman said.
His work with The Schmidt Ocean Institute has done similar mapping and data collection in a year-long project across reefs off the Australian coast in both the Pacific and Indian oceans.
It includes deep ocean reefs off Perth and Ningaloo in Western Australia all the way around to the Great Barrier Reef.
"It brought together many, many people including students, which is really important," Dr Beaman said.
"When you're going into the deep ocean, you're going into places that haven't really been explored before, so there are all these fauna that have been there for perhaps millions of years but it's just we haven't discovered them.
"We've found new species here — fish, deep-water corals and other invertebrate sponge species.
"It's quite fascinating to shine light into these depths. I understand the excitement of the ATLAS project."
Dr Beaman said southern hemisphere oceans did not appear to have as many deep water mounts of corals, but it might be they simply had not discovered yet.
"It could be we haven't looked as much in the southern oceans — it's not explored as much as north Atlantic.
"There are lots of cold water corals species found in these depths — in parts of southern Tasmania they've found great fields of these cold water corals."
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