WASHINGTON: Scientists based near Oban will use custom-built robots, capable of operating at depths of seven miles, to explore the deepest parts of the ocean in a bid to discover how life is sustained there.
The research team led by Professor Ronnie N. Glud, who is based at the University of Southern Denmark, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) at Dunstaffnage will take the unique step of studying and sampling organisms in their own deep sea environment.
These extreme ocean regions, known as ‘hadal zones’, occur where one plate of the earth’s geological crust is sliding underneath a neighbouring plate, forming deep trenches in the seafloor.
The Hades Project requires three purpose-built robots to operate at extreme depths.
Previous expeditions led by Professor Glud, most notably to the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean the deepest part of the ocean, revealed surprisingly high levels of biological activity.
Professor Glud said: “It is extremely difficult to investigate what actually happens in the extreme deep.”
The three trenches to be visited by the researchers are in the Pacific Ocean: the Atacama Trench off Chile (max depth five miles), Japan Trench south and east of Japan (5.9 miles) and Kermadec Trench north of New Zealand (6.24 miles).
Dr Robert Turnewitsch, Principal Investigator in Marine Geochemistry at SAMS, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, was on the team that explored the Mariana Trench and his expertise has been called upon again.
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