News 2012     

An expert group has for several years been working to identify new bristle worm (Polychaeta) species in the MAREANO seabed samples. Recently, the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre, allocated 2.6 million Norwegian kroner (ca. 350.000 €), enabling further research on this material.

State-of-the-art  and new developments in methods and technologies for mapping the hydrography, geology and biology of the seabed were the subjects for a workshop on seabed mapping methods and technologies  held in Trondheim, Norway 17-18 October.

On this year’s autumn expedition, in addition to the usual mix of scientists and technicians, we had the pleasure of having two guests. They were the artist Pippip Ferner and the journalism student Silje Pileberg, who hoped to expand their horizons for the benefit of their own projects, while also shedding light on our research in ways that we would be unable to do.

Cruise report: The Sula Reef area in mid-Norway is known to contain numerous coral reefs, but less is known about coral reefs outside the designated protection area where trawling is prohibited. During transit between the Iverryggen and the Sula reef marine protected area (MPA), we used the opportunity to look for new and undiscovered coral reefs.

Around 55 million years ago there was volcanic activity in the northeastern part of Mørebanken, offshore mid-Norway. Today we can find remains of this volcanism in the form of a steep sided column-like mountain rising from an otherwise fairly flat seabed, which now provides a home for a variety of fish and other bottom dwelling animals.

Cruise report: While using a video-rig to map the biodiversity of the sea-bottom, we often observe animal tracks crossing the seafloor. Such tracks can be holes, mounds or traces that are a result of the animals’ movement. This last week we have seen many such very decorative tracks on the seafloor in the area of Sunnmørsbankene at around 200 m depth, and the amount and density of the tracks bear witness of quite heavy “traffic” in some areas.

Cruise report: During the 2012 MAREANO autumn cruise, scientists onboard RV ”G.O. Sars” discovered 15 new coral reefs off the coast of Trøndelag and Møre and Romsdal counties.

As MAREANO extends into previously unmapped areas it is prudent to see if costs can be reduced by using alternative sources of bathymetry data, rather than full coverage multibeam data. A new report from the Geological Survey of Norway and the Institute for Marine Research tests out one possible source of alternative bathymetry data and evaluates the use of these data in future MAREANO work.

Three marine survey vessels are currently acquiring bathymetry data for the MAREANO project. Mapping has got off to a slow start because of strong winds and high seas, but we are hoping to make up some of the lost time.

The first MAREANO cruise this year has been successfully finished after a one month survey off Vesterålen/Nordland VI and off North-Trøndelag and Møre. The last 2-3 days were used for video filming in the northern part of the Storegga where both depth and fauna communities varied. In deep water the communities were affected by sub-zero temperatures and a thousands of years old underwater slide.

The second leg of MAREANO’s spring cruise has now been south to the Mid-Norwegian shelf. One area 3900 square kilometre large between Kristiansund and Halten, and a second 2900 square kilometre on the northern part Storegga have been mapped by video.

Cruise report: The second part of MAREANO's "spring cruise" is underway and is due to end in Tromsø 22 May after a 10-day cruise off the coast of Trøndelag, mid-Norway. After two days of investigations three unknown coral reefs have been found, of which one is probably a couple of hundred meters long.

Cruise report: MAREANO continues to accumulate many samples and a multitude of marine organisms. Many of these will be held in the Bergen University Museum and made available for researchers all over the world. The description and classification of organisms is a prime function of museum staff and such taxonomic research has brought us from the National Museum of Wales to the Norwegian Sea.

Cruise report: MAREANO's spring-cruise with R/V G.O. Sars has now been going on for about one week. The purpose of this first part of the cruise is to complete the mapping of habitats, benthic fauna and pollutants in the Nordland VI area off Lofoten, while in the second part video-filming will take place in the Storegga area and an area between Kristiansund and Halten.

Ida Bendixen Leinebø recently finished a master’s programme in environmental chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, University of Bergen. During the past two years, she has done her experimental master work at the Chemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Marine Research: analyses of radionuclides in sediment cores collected as part of the MAREANO programme.

So far, the MAREANO project has focused on areas off the counties of Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. This year, areas off Møre og Romsdal will also be surveyed. The aim is to produce biotope maps to assist with the revision of the management plan for the Norwegian Sea by September 2013.

The vessel MS Hydrograf is currently acquiring bathymetry data as part of the MAREANO project. This is a short presentation of some bathymetric features recorded across the Sularevet reef, which has been surveyed this summer.

In mid-September, R/V G.O. Sars embarked upon the 2012 MAREANO (Marine AREA database for Norwegian coastal and sea areas) fall survey. This year’s study area includes: coral reefs at Sula Reef outside South Trøndelag; several fishing areas along the route Kristiansund - Halten; and selected areas of the Møre Bank and Storegga North.

The map service which shows seabed terrain has been updated with data from the Norwegian Sea.

Dozens of new polychaete species unknown to science have been detected in seabed samples collected by MAREANO in the Norwegian Sea during the last couple of years. In addition, scientists have been able to extend the known area of occurrence of a number of species. The findings contribute to an increased understanding of species diversity in the little-known and "invisible" animal world within the deep-water bottom sediments off the North-Norwegian coast.

International workshop on methods and technology for seabed mapping – Trondheim 17th-18th October 2012.

MAREANO has obtained access to existing bathymetric data acquired by other operators. The data are very valuable and will contribute to the progress of the programme.

The maps with the levels of hydrocarbons are now updated with the results from the 23 locations investigated in 2010. Same as before, the levels are low at all the places where sampling was carried out.