From 14-27 June 2019, the CSSF team joined chief scientists Drs. Martha Nizinski (NOAA) and Anna Metaxas (Dalhousie University) in support of their deep-sea coral research in submarine canyons off the Northeast Coast of the U.S. and Canada and in the Northern Gulf of Maine. The research team focused on filling data gaps in the distribution, abundance, and diversity of deep-sea corals to inform resource managers and aid in determining MPA boundaries and coral-closure areas on both sides of the border.

Read more: Deep-Sea Coral Research in Submarine Canyons

From June 8th to 22nd, 2017, ROPOS was mobilized onboard the NOAA Ship Henry. B. Bigelow for an international expedition to explore the Gulf of Maine.

Scientists, researchers, students and technicians from Dalhousie University and Memorial University lead the Canadian leg of the expedition, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Together with researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), they explored the unique Gulf of Maine ecosystems with the goal of discovering new species and habitats in need of protection.

Read more: Gulf of Maine Expedition Update

You can watch Science of the Sea - Revealing mysteries through the science of the sea (Season 17 Episode 20) on the Land and Sea CBC website.

In June 2014, CSSF was part of a collaborative research cruise between Dalhousie University, NOAA, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), to explore deep sea corals in the Gulf of Maine onboard the RV Bigelow. This cruise explored several offshore canyons and discovered significant concentrations of breath-taking centuries-old cold water corals. Over the course of 12 days, ROPOS conducted 16 dives, visited 7 dive sites, and accumulated 168 hours of dive time providing the research team with 68 video transects, 236 physical samples, 7.5 terabyte of HD video, and over 1000 digital stills.

Read more: ROPOS helps protect sensitive benthic areas