More than 40 new species and a successful outreach. Those are the first two results of the Conicet expedition that explored the submarine canyons of Mar del Plata and awakened an unprecedented interest.
“We believe that the expedition was a success. And the samples we collected, of water and species, will allow us to make new discoveries and consolidate scientific advances over the next decade,” stated Daniel Lauretta, researcher from Conicet and the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences Bernardino Rivadavia, who also served as mission chief.
During a conference, Lauretta shared the first conclusions: “We discovered approximately 40 new marine species. Additionally, we were able to confirm an unexpected diversity in cold-water corals in the Mar del Plata submarine canyon, at a depth of 3,900 meters“.
Cutting-edge Technology and Massive Outreach: an Unprecedented Campaign
The expedition, titled Underwater Oases of Mar Del Plata Canyon: Continental Slope IV, took place over 21 days aboard the R/V Falkor (too) vessel of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, equipped with state-of-the-art oceanographic instruments.
The live streaming on YouTube and Twitch reached a record audience: almost 18 million views, with an average of 500 thousand per dive, far exceeding the usual figures for similar campaigns.
For the first time, an Argentine scientific mission was broadcasted in real-time, allowing millions of people—mostly Argentinians—to follow the findings simultaneously with the researchers.
The quality of the underwater images and the interaction with the audience through chats generated intense scientific outreach activity, with letters and drawings sent by dozens of children.
Deep Exploration in a Key Region of the Southern Atlantic
The campaign focused on a little-explored area of the Argentine continental slope, located 300 kilometers from Mar del Plata, with its deepest point exceeding 3,500 meters. The mission started on July 23 and ended on August 11, with the support of Conicet and international funding.
For the first time in Argentine waters, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian was used, capable of capturing ultra-high-definition images and collecting samples without disturbing the environment.
In previous expeditions (2012 and 2013), samples were obtained using nets and trawls, without direct visual access to the seafloor.
Expedition of CONICET in the submarine canyon of Mar del Plata
Deep-sea Biodiversity: Corals, Snails, and Species Yet to be Identified
Among the most outstanding findings are coral reefs at 1,014 meters deep, composed of Bathelia candida, a stony coral that forms habitats, and an extensive field of red Anthomastus sp., a soft coral found at 1,500 meters.
Sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, snails, crinoids, and other species were also documented, which could be new to science.
The samples were transported to the MACN-Conicet, where a stage of laboratory work and taxonomic analysis begins. “We are identifying new species, reviewing genera, families, and literature for comparisons. This stage can take months or years,” explained Lauretta.
Furthermore, the levels of microplastic contamination will be analyzed, and the data obtained can be used to assess environmental impacts from potential offshore oil explorations.
A Submerged Country: the Importance of Studying the Deep Ocean
For Lauretta, “almost half of the country is submerged under the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and those depths are full of resources that we still do not know. Campaigns like this are essential because those areas cannot be visualized from the air with satellites or drones. They require the use of ships and instruments like the ROV, which allowed us to see live fauna in situ and its distribution. The deep ocean is an immense place.”
Submarine canyons are key to understanding biodiversity and planning the responsible use of the Argentine sea.
“We have a future plan to continue studying the canyons,” noted Lauretta. “They are very good places to evaluate biodiversity in general.”
“The more we know about them, the better decisions we can make about human activities that can be carried out in those areas. And it is most likely that the more we investigate, the more new species we will find.”
A Multidisciplinary Team at the Service of Knowledge
The expedition was led by a team of more than 30 researchers, mostly from Conicet, belonging to:
- Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences “Bernardino Rivadavia” (MACN, Conicet)
- Institute of Marine Organism Biology (IBIOMAR, Conicet)
- Institute of Marine and Coastal Research (IIMyC, Conicet-UNMDP)
- Institute of Biodiversity and Experimental and Applied Biology (IBBEA, UBA-Conicet)
- Southern Center for Scientific Research (CADIC, Conicet)
- Institute of Animal Diversity and Ecology (IDEA, Conicet-UNC)
Researchers from the National Universities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Plata, and Mar del Plata also participated, consolidating a federal scientific network with high-level exploration and analysis capabilities.
