2018 Costa Rica Margin
October 16, 2018 – November 6, 2018
R/V Atlantis, HOV Alvin, AUV Sentry
Dr. Erik Cordes led a team at the continental margin in the Pacific Ocean west of Costa Rica to study cold seeps, active areas of the seafloor where methane and other chemicals are released, and associated fauna. This study will help evaluate the size of the methane seep sphere of influence and will also demonstrate the role of these seeps within the deep sea and the greater, global, marine ecosystem. The team ran 20 dives in human-occupied vehicle, Alvin, to complete biological surveys and transplant experiments, 9 CTD casts to collect water chemistry data, 10 surveys with AUV Sentry to collect photographic, bathymetric, and chemical data, and 10 wire flyer surveys to assess the turbidity of the water column. In addition to the biological and water samples collected, the team was able to identify new sites of seepage and seep-associated communities as well as unfamiliar species like the charismatic “snake worm”!