Deepwater Program: Exploration and Research of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Natural and Artificial Hard Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Coral Communities: Reefs, Rigs and Wrecks
TDI-Brooks International was awarded a $3.7M four-year project from the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) in August 2008. This is an interagency study involving MMS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) and will also include additional collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey.
This is a similar type project to the MMS Chemo-III project that is currently underway at TDI-BI. It will be multidisciplinary with principal investigators from TAMU, Penn State, LSU, TAMUCC and WHOI.
Up to twenty-four (24) days of ship time the first year and similar number of days for years two and three aboard NOAA OER-funded research vessels including operating personnel, made available by the NOAA OER, will be used to conduct this program. Other research vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROV), human occupied vehicles (HOV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) from NOAA OER may also be employed in FY 2009 and 2010. The first cruise is scheduled for September 2008.
This study will focus on the exploration and investigation of deepwater non-chemosynthetic biological communities in the deep (>300 m) Gulf of Mexico (GOM) that have developed on both natural and artificial hard substrates with emphasis on deepwater coral habitats. An additional aspect includes exploration of shipwreck sites in the deep Gulf with historical and biological objectives.
