Publications

The objective of this photo identification guide is to provide documentation of Alcyonacean specimens collected and/or photographed from the Pinnacle Trend, using in-situ and ex-situ photography, with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC) in the National Marine Fisheries Service is participating in an Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group studying marine life in the Gulf of Mexico and the impact of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on that life. The NOAA Central Library was consulted to create this annotated bibliography to provide OHC with literature on the mesophotic and deep sea corals in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular this bibliography covers the impacts of the DWH oil spill, mapping and restoration techniques for those coral communities. 

This publication is the eighth consecutive supplement on ocean exploration to accompany Oceanography. These booklets provide details about the innovative technologies deployed to investigate the seafloor and water column and explain how telepresence can both convey the excitement of ocean exploration to global audiences and allow scientists as well as the public on shore to participate in expeditions in real time. 

benthic animals; multibeam mapping; oceanography; research

The objectives of the expedition were to survey, sample, and map deep-sea coral ecosystems in
the eastern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight between ~200⁠–1000 m depths, focusing on
priority areas identified by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

This report describes the 2016 and 2017 research activities partially or fully funded by the Program to meet NOAA’s mandate to identify, study, and monitor deep-sea coral areas.

The Mountains in the Deep Expedition (EX1705), conducted from April 27, 2017, to May 19, 2017, onboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, collected valuable new information to support management and science needs throughout the Central Pacific Basin. Operations were conducted in American Samoa and the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, the Cook Islands’ Marae Moana marine park, and in the Jarvis Island and Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef Units of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM as part of the Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds (CAPSTONE).

NOAA and its partners initiated CAPSTONE expeditions aboard Okeanos Explorer in July 2015. In addition to providing valuable information on the habitats and species in these MPAs, CAPSTONE also aims to contribute publicly accessible baseline data and critical information needed to respond to emerging regional issues such as deep-sea mining, sustainable deep-sea fisheries, and potential US ECS designation.

coral reef ecology; planning; research; sponges

In September 2016, the science team for the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative met in Charleston, South Carolina to refine priorities of the initiative, and build the framework for a science plan. The purpose of this science plan is to outline a general strategy for the execution and completion of the most important research activities conducted under the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative. 

deep-sea fishes; deep sea corals; habitat; sponges; underwater photography

The 2012 and 2014 underwater camera surveys of the Aleutian Islands conducted by NOAA Fisheries were the first comprehensive underwater camera surveys of corals and sponges in the Aleutian Islands. Survey results presented in this report include fish and crab composition and density, coral, sponge, sea pens, and sea whip density and height, and substrate composition for each transect. 

fishes; fish populations; fish surveys; habitat; underwater photography

Two sites were selected off of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska and 40 underwater camera transects were deployed to assess benthic habitat and fish density. The data extracted from the images included substrate classifications as well as coral, sponge, and fish counts and identification.