Barents Sea

Mission to Discover

Soft Corals: The deep and cold waters of the Arctic host a high diversity of corals. Soft corals are one of the three main groups of corals found in the world, and do not possess a stony skeleton like hard corals. Instead, they have a variety of shapes, including fan-like, whip-like or feather-like.

Glass Sponges: Glass sponges (Hexactellinida) are animals commonly found in the deep ocean living on hard surfaces. Their skeleton is composed of silica spicules, which may fuse together in intricate structures.

Crustaceans: Crustacean is a collective term for a diverse group of animals with hard external skeletons (‘exoskeletons’), and include species as crabs and lobster. Crustacean groups likely to be encountered around cold seeps include decapods (crabs, squat lobster, shrimp), amphipods and isopods.

Mission Objectives

Combining multi-disciplinary research, species discovery, knowledge exchange and public engagement.

Science: To investigate the effects changing ocean conditions have on the physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of extreme environments (methane and oil seepage sites).

Species Discovery: Sample the diversity and distribution of deep-sea benthic communities, particularly those found within coral and sponge habitats, fish habitats, and other vulnerable marine habitats with high conservation value.

Knowledge Exchange:Providing training for the next generation of experts in Arctic marine sciences and greenhouse gas phenomena.

Education: Hosting university and Erasmus students from institutions around the world, including Norway, France, Singapore, Ukraine, Greece, USA and Italy.

Public Engagement: Facilitating access to knowledge and information including via live events for students globally and via social media.