Robots Map Mysterious Deep Sea Canyons for the First Time

Robots are helping conservationists with a big project. These machines have created the first true three-dimensional picture of submarine canyon habitats by mapping the deep sea in a conservation area.

Submarine canyons are some of the most complex deep-sea environments on the planet. They're known to be potential biodiversity hotspots; similar to canyons on land, submarine canyons can have steep flanks, with vertical cliffs and overhanging rock formation. Until recently, though, these parts were out of reach for traditional types of marine equipment. Essentially, they became the "forgotten habitats" of the deep sea.

In this case, though, the researchers used robot technology to explore the Whittard Canyon in the Bay of Biscay. The robots collected data in the hard-to-reach area, revealing a bit more about the biodiversity patterns in the canyon and the processes that drive them.

"Our robot vehicles imaged rich communities of cold-water corals, clams, deep-sea oysters and their associated fauna, including a broad range of fish species," said Veerle Huvenne, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We also captured amazing footage of Blue Sharks and Swordfish when the Isis marine robot was travelling to and from the seabed. The morphology of this canyon is spectacular. We have mapped cliffs up to 150 m high and 1.5 km long, in some locations down to centimeter-scale resolution. This makes us the only group in the world who currently can image vertical cliffs in the deep sea this way."

The findings reveal a bit more about this area. More specifically, the map can tell researchers how best to target conservation efforts in order to benefit the creatures that live within these deep sea areas.

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