An enormous but poorly understood region of the global ocean–referred to as the abyssal benthic boundary layer–lies a few meters above the seafloor and has only been sampled a handful of times.
An enormous but poorly understood region of the global ocean–referred to as the abyssal benthic boundary layer–lies a few meters above the seafloor and has only been sampled a handful of times. A study by oceanographers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa provided the first in-depth look at this habitat, revealing a dynamic community that may be more sensitive to seasonal changes than previously understood. The research, published in Limnology and Oceanography, also concluded that deep-sea mining could have significant and unavoidable impacts on biodiversity, regardless of the time of year.
“Given the remoteness of this environment, we have extraordinarily limited knowledge of the animals that inhabit this zone,” said Gabrielle Ellis, lead author of the study and recent oceanography graduate from the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “This study represents a significant contribution to our understanding of the benthic boundary layer community, and it starts to unravel temporal dynamics in the abyss.”
Read more at: University of Hawaii
Lander used to collect small deep-sea animals. (Photo Credit: Gabrielle Ellis)
