The CONICET started its new live streaming on December 14, which follows the expedition “Life in Extremes” on the seabed.
This will explore the underwater ecosystems of the South Atlantic until January 2026, with a journey through key points of the Argentine continental slope.
This new CONICET streaming of a scientific campaign comes after the success of the expedition to the Mar del Plata Submarine Canyon, conducted a few months ago, which proved very popular.
Now, this new campaign seeks to expand knowledge about marine life in the depths of the Argentine South Atlantic.
In particular, the scientific team will look for methane seeps and organisms adapted to extreme conditions.
The broadcast is conducted in real-time through the digital platforms of the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
There, viewers can send questions that the scientists will answer live throughout the campaign.
An unprecedented scientific expedition by CONICET broadcasted via streaming
The new CONICET mission to be streamed departed aboard the vessel Falkor (too) with 25 specialists, of whom 17 are Argentine.
The leadership is headed by biologist María Emilia Bravo, a researcher at the entity and a professor at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
The expedition will traverse three strategic zones of the South Atlantic Ocean:
- the Malvinas Basin;
- the Salado Basin, and;
- the Colorado-Rawson basins.
In these areas, the presence of cold seeps harboring underwater life in extreme conditions is suspected.
“It will be possible to comprehensively study how methane influences the biological, physical, and chemical characteristics of the deep ecosystem,” Bravo indicated about the campaign’s objectives.
State-of-the-art underwater technology key to the scientific campaign
The campaign includes at least 15 dives with the SuBastian, a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
This is capable of descending to 4500 meters of depth and will be responsible for collecting crucial samples from the seabed such as:
- Water
- Sediments
- Rocks
- Seabed organisms
The vessel Falkor (too) will also conduct acoustic mapping with multiple probes and state-of-the-art oceanographic instrumentation.
The equipment was specially designed for this scientific mission.
The main objective of the expedition is to analyze the methane gas seeps on the continental slope.
These ecosystems are dominated by microorganisms and animals adapted to the total absence of light and the extreme pressure of the deep ocean.
The mission will conclude on January 10, 2026 in Puerto Madryn, after more than three weeks of continuous exploration.
This campaign represents the last of the year for CONICET aboard the scientific vessel, and it will be streamed.
Public and educational access to the new CONICET streaming
The images and content captured during the expedition will be published in open scientific repositories.
The material will be adapted for use in schools, universities, and for the general community.
This scientific streaming initiative allows the Argentine and global public to access underwater discoveries in real-time.
Thus, the collaboration between CONICET, UBA, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute democratizes knowledge about deep marine ecosystems.
