From July 15 – August 2, 2024, 6 CSSF team members supported Dalhousie University, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) aboard the R/V Henry B. Bigelow for the Cross-border Coral Habitat Exploration (CroCHEt) Expedition in the Gulf of Maine and in submarine canyons on the continental slope, including two in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The aims of the scientific team were to answer several questions about deep-water corals and to maintain successful collaboration between Canadian and US scientists. Scientists from Dalhousie University, the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, DFO, and NOAA all participated. The expedition had 8 scientific objectives: 1) conduct video surveys and collect specimens at various locations, 2) explore new areas that may be of interest for protection, 3) evaluate deep-water coral abundance and spatial distribution, 4) collect fauna for taxonomic, reproductive, age, and isotopic analyses, 5) collect data for long-term monitoring in conservation areas, 6) undertake onboard experiments on temperature tolerance of select coral species, 7) collect water samples for eDNA analysis, and 8) collect multibeam data. Work that required the expertise of our team and ROPOS included the collection of imagery, biological samples, and seawater samples.

Read more: Dalhousie, NOAA and DFO’s CroCHEt Expedition

From April 21 – May 22, 2024, 10 CSSF team members supported the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) aboard the R/V Isabu for their INDEX2024 Expedition. Participants included scientists from the University of Washington (UW) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (NOAA, PMEL). [Add: Science Team objectives]. ROPOS was required to operate specialised water- and gas-tight samplers in deep-sea environments.

Read more: KIOST’s 2024 Indian Ocean Expedition

On June 5, 2024, the ROPOS At-Sea Team was announced as the 2023 winner of the prestigious J. P. Tully Medal of Oceanography from the Canadian Meteorology and Oceanography Society (CMOS)! The award recognizes any person whose scientific contributions have had a significant impact on Canadian oceanography.

Read more: ROPOS Team Awarded the J. P. Tully Medal of Oceanography

From September 29 – November 20, 2023, 6 CSSF team members supported the INDEX2023 ship expedition of the Germany’s Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR; Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) in the Central Indian Ocean. The focus of this mission to conduct geological and environmental investigations in an area licensed under the regulation of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for the exploration of polymetallic massive sulfides as part of the ongoing INDEX project. Participants included scientists and professionals from the University of Hamburg, Hafen City University Hamburg, Laurentian University, Christian-Albrechts University (CAU) Kiel, the Scottish Association for Marine Science, Integrated Environmental Solutions (INES) and the BGR.

Read more: BGR INDEX2023 Expedition