(WJW) – A team of oceanographers set off on a 28-day expedition into the international waters of the Nazca Ridge, about 900 miles off the coast of Chile, and made some pretty eye-catching discoveries along the way.
Within it is an underwater mountain that is about two miles tall. The newly discovered seamount is part of a larger mountain range.
During the expedition, which concluded in August, the team mapped the seamount and performed dives using an underwater robot.
According to a press release from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which led the expedition, the robot discovered sponge gardens and ancient coral.
The team also mapped and explored other parts of the underwater mountain range.
The announcement described the site as an “untouched coral reef” the size of three tennis courts, which it said “provides a haven for a variety of creatures, including rockfish, starfish and king crabs.”
In addition, the team has identified rare, live “Promacoteutis According to the statement, until now the squid genus had only been characterized from dead samples found in nets.
The explorers also recorded a sighting of a “Casper’s Octopus,” which the release said was the first time the species had been spotted in the South Pacific.
And the team has two unusualBatifisa The Siphonophore, also known as the “Flying Spaghetti Monster.”
This expedition was the third to deep sea areas this year.
“Prior to Schmidt Ocean Institute’s survey this year, 1,019 species were known to inhabit this part of the Pacific Ocean; that number now exceeds 1,300 and growing,” the statement said.
The Nazca Ridge is currently under consideration for designation as a high seas marine protected area.
“The records will be sent to the Ocean Census, an international cooperative coalition led by the Nippon Foundation and Nekton to promote the discovery and conservation of marine life,” the statement said.
For more information about the expedition and its findings, visit the Schmidt Ocean Institute website.
