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Error processing SSI file
Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary
SSE Accomplishments
Report
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Exploration
of a deep reef by DeepWorker in Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
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The approach to the Sustainable Seas Expeditions
at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, has
been to complement and build upon existing research
and to work in partnership with scientists who have
expertise in the deep sea and with remotely
operated vehicles and other submersibles. The
DeepWorker will be a valuable resource for
characterizing habitats and developing monitoring
programs, and the sanctuary selected research
projects to take a advantage of those
strengths.
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Dr.
Chris Harrold checks communications prior
to a dive.
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One project prepared for this year's missions was
furthering an existing prickly shark research
program by using the DeepWorker to conduct visual
transects at the heads of several major canyons in
the sanctuary to estimate the distribution and
relative abundance of prickly and other large
sharks. Another project planned to observe
day-night migrations of small invertebrates, with a
focus on gelatinous zooplankton. A third study was
to help local efforts to make seasonal comparisons
of deep water habitats and fishes in the Big Creek
Ecological Reserve. The Big Creek Marine Reserve
Project was also the subject of a successful
student summit education project during the
Expeditions. Specifically, Mike Guardino, the
Teacher in the Sea, successfully conducted a deep
water survey in Carmel Bay from DeepWorker. This
was an extension of shallow water scuba surveys he
is conducting with students.
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Dr.
Steve Webster gathers an image during a
DeepWorker dive.
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Unfortunately, inclement weather and technical and
operational difficulties limited the amount of
research on the projects during the first
Sustainable Seas Expeditions visit to the
sanctuary. However, by logging practice dives in
the DeepWorker, honing their piloting skills, and
initiating collaborations and planning, scientists
have created a solid foundation for future
visits.
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The
DeepWorker in Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary.
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