ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
he Perth Canyon expedition
The Perth Canyon is a deep ocean canyon just 50 kilometres off the West Australian coastline near Perth, yet it remains largely unexplored. A group of acclaimed scientists, led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch from the University of Western Australia and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies will join with the Schmidt Ocean Institute to be among the first to explore the vast canyon – which is about the size of the USA’s Grand Canyon.
The underwater canyon formed over tens of millions of years and extends from the continental shelf edge of Western Australia to depths of more than four kilometres to the abyssal sea floor. Major up-swelling of essential nutrients in the canyon makes it a global marine hotspot, attracting blue whales and other large fauna that migrate to the waters seasonally to feed. Despite being so close to Perth and Fremantle, little is known about life in its deep abyss.
The expedition runs from March 1 to March 10, 2015.
Click here to watch the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s expedition video in real time…
Meet the team
The Perth Canyon expedition is led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch and includes researchers from the University of Western Australia, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, the Western Australian Museum, CSIRO and the Institute of Marine Sciences in Italy.
Professor Malcolm McCulloch discusses the expedition on ABC Local Radio Perth.
Professor McCulloch explains more about the expedition.
ABC News story – Perth Canyon research could provide crucial climate change information, researchers say…
The Conversation – we are finally learning the Perth Canyon’s deep secrets…
Expedition blogs – Schmidt Ocean Institute
Blog post 2 – First impressions, exploring RV Falkor… read more
Blog post 3 – We’re at sea!… read more
Blog post 4 – Everything you wanted to know about ROV Comanche… read more
Blog post 5 – The secret world of deep sea corals… read more
Blog post 6 – A first glimpse of diversity of life in the Perth Canyon… read more
Blog post 7 – Amazing life one mile below the surface… read more
Blog post 8 – living at the edge – An acidifying ocean… read more
Blog post 9 – A deep sea love story… read more
Blog post 10 – Perth Canyon, a marine hot spot in a desert ocean… read more
Blog post 11 – Coral skeletons as archives of ocean change… read more
A group of acclaimed scientists from The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) will go where few others have gone before when they set out to unlock the secrets of a deep ocean canyon off Perth the size of the USA’s Grand Canyon.
A UWA team headed by Coral CoE Deputy Director, Professor Malcolm McCulloch, together with researchers from the Western Australian Museum, CSIRO and the Institute of Marine Sciences in Italy, will be among the first to explore life in the vast Perth Canyon, about 50km off Fremantle.
The underwater canyon formed over tens of millions of years and extends from the continental shelf edge of Western Australia to depths of more than four kilometres to the abyssal sea floor. Major up-swelling of essential nutrients in the canyon makes it a global marine hotspot, attracting blue whales and other large fauna that migrate to the waters seasonally to feed. Despite being so close to Perth and Fremantle, little is known about life in its deep abyss.
Professor McCulloch and his team will lead the research expedition on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel, R/V Falkor, during a 12-day trip departing on Sunday, 1 March.
Researchers will use a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to discover and collect deep-sea corals and sea water from the canyon. Chemical and biological analyses of these rare samples will provide critical new data about the canyon’s marine ecosystems. This will help determine the likely future impacts of warming seas and ocean acidification on the deep-sea life and waters in these remote and previously inaccessible habitats.
Professor McCulloch said that ROV exploration had never before been carried out there, making it a voyage of genuine discovery.
“The deep ocean is the largest habitat on earth but it’s the world’s least explored environment – we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep sea floor,” Professor McCulloch said.
“The Perth Canyon is a great unknown. It is the largest submarine canyon along Australia’s shelf, less than a stone’s throw from WA’s capital city, yet has never been subject to rigorous scientific investigation.
“We plan to unlock its secrets using modern tools such as an ROV to collect samples, then utilise a suite of geochemical tools to investigate its longer-term history and future capacity to cope with the pressures of climate change.”
He said despite the challenges of exploration in such remote environments, it was important to research such habitats because of their key role in the Earth’s climate system and in supplying the essential nutrients to sustain life in the oceans.
“By understanding these deep-water environments and their inhabitants’ sensitivity to ocean acidification, the expedition will provide important new data on the ocean’s role in sequestering CO2 and the degree to which coral species in the Perth Canyon are able to adapt to changing conditions.”
He said the team hoped to answer the larger question of how animals that calcify skeletons are likely to be affected under future climate change scenarios, and the ability of the deeper oceans to more permanently sequester rapidly rising levels of atmospheric CO2.
“We hope to not only reveal the ocean’s living treasures, but also to establish how critical seawater parameters necessary to sustain life are changing due to the combined forces of ocean warming and CO2-driven ocean acidification,” he said.
Besides giving researchers the chance to better understand the Perth Canyon, the work should also help to better understand the likely threats to other deep ecosystems in the region and similar environments worldwide.
Other UWA researchers involved in the expedition include Dr Jim Falter, Dr Julie Trotter, Professor Chari Pattiaratchi and research associate Lara Garcia-Corral.
To find out how they fare, visit the Schmidt Ocean Institute daily blog.
The project is being funded by the Australian Research Council, Schmidt Ocean Institute and The University of Western Australia.
Professor Malcolm McCulloch (UWA School of Earth and Environment and The UWA Oceans Institute) (+61 8) 6488 3074
David Stacey (UWA Media and Public Affairs Manager) (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716
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Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
