No pandemic pause for multi-disciplinary reef exploration in 2020.

by Mardi McNeil Queensland University of Technology

During a challenging 2020, one international research vessel was able to continue working in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks collecting valuable marine science data despite the pandemic – the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s RV Falkor. The 82 metre RV Falkor is an oceanographic research vessel kitted out with a suite of scientific instruments including state-of-the-art multibeam sonar systems for mapping the seafloor in high-resolution. These voyages mapped the upper continental slope, submarine canyons, drowned reef terraces and pinnacles along the entire outside edge of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as many of the reefs and seamounts on the Queensland Plateau. The survey outputs will greatly expand the knowledge base for the sustainable management of these unique features, and establish environmental baselines by building on previous mapping in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks.

What was mapped?

Detailed underwater mapping occurred in some of the most remote and underexplored regions of tropical north-eastern Australia. Multi-disciplinary teams of geologists, ecologists, biologists, taxonomists, oceanographers and robotics engineers from multiple institutions systematically mapped and characterised the mesophotic and deeper seascapes, sediments, habitats, and water column from the seafloor to surface.

Due to pandemic-related travel restrictions and border closures, the Falkor’s original 2020 schedule was highly disrupted. Several planned voyages were cancelled or postponed, which opened up ship-time for more locally-

Above: New multi beam bathymetry mapping around the steeper planks of Osprey Reef on the Queensland Plateau. © Schmidt Ocean Institute

Above: Scientists from James Cook University, Queensland University of Technology, the University of Sydney, and Geoscience Australia embarking on the ‘Seamounts, Canyons and Reefs of the Coral Sea’ voyage from Cairns. Scientists from the University of Tasmania, the Queensland Museum, the Museum of Tropical Queensland, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology participated remotely. © Dean Miller/Schmidt Ocean Institute

Above: RV Falkor operating in the Great Barrier Reef. © Schmidt Ocean Institute

based science teams to conduct research in Queensland waters at unusually short-notice.

First ever remotely operated research voyage

In testimony to the use of remote technology that has now become routine, scientists were able to complete the first completely ‘remote’ research voyage, where the RV Falkor sailed with no science party onboard. During Covid lockdown, Chief Scientist Dr. Robin Beaman from James Cook University ran the ‘Visioning the Coral Sea Marine Park’ voyage remotely from his home in Cairns, along with collaborating scientists who would meet daily with the ship’s crew and marine technicians via online platforms to plan and execute the day’s mapping and ROV dives. Since then, a number of voyages have adopted a hybrid model, with a smaller team of scientists on board the vessel and additional collaborators connecting remotely from onshore.

Sampling at 4,500 m – how is it done?

One of main research tools on RV Falkor is the remotely operated vehicle ROV SuBastian. Capable of diving to a maximum depth of 4500 m. ROV SuBastian is fitted with a suite of sensors and sampling equipment capable of collecting everything from rocks and sediment cores, to delicate black corals, free-swimming jellies, and midwater plankton.

Each ROV dive is filmed in 4K and live-streamed in real time to Facebook and Youtube, with the scientists in the control room onboard RV Falkor providing live commentary and interacting with viewers via the streaming platform’s chat function. The ‘Visioning the Coral Sea Marine Park’, ‘Northern Depths of the Great Barrier Reef’ and ‘Seamounts, Canyons and Reefs of the Coral Sea’ expeditions provided the first ROV vision of some of the deepest and most remote underwater features off the continental slope and Queensland Plateau. All of the dive videos can be watched from the Schmidt Ocean Institute YouTube channel.

Voyage highlights

Some highlights from the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea include the first ever in-situ observation of the Ram’s Horn Squid (Spirula spirula), filmed during an ROV dive with Dr. Dhugal Lindsay from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) joining the dive remotely via satellite.

Above: First recorded observation of Spiral spirula in its natural habitat, at 860 m water depth off Wreck Bay, in the northern Great Barrier Reef. © Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Top: ROV SuBastian being deployed; Titanium manipulator arms picking up a delicate discarded nautilus shell with black coral attached and collecting a rock sample; Bottom: RV Falkor control room during an ROV dive, being livestreamed to the world in real time. Photos 1-3: © Schmidt Ocean Institute; Photo 4: © Graeme McMahon/Schmidt Ocean Institute. Spectacular underwater features were mapped including a 2000 m high ‘waterfall’ and plunge pool off Wreck Bay in the northern GBR. Headlines were made with the discovery of a new 500 m high detached reef with a living reef ecosystem at the top in 40 m water depth. The new detached reef adds to the seven other tall detached reefs in the area, which were all mapped in the late 1800s. As well as mapping the new reef in 3D detail, it was exciting to dive from the base to the top with ROV SuBastian and livestream the discovery to the world.

While the ‘Northern Depths of the Great Barrier Reef’ voyage targeted deeper seascapes and habitats on the continental slope and submarine canyons, the ‘Ice Age Geology of the Great Barrier Reef’ voyage targeted the 50 to 150 m depth range in the southern GBR and Capricorn-Bunker Group. The aim was to explore and map the drowned shorelines, rivers, deltas, and reefs of the southern GBR that formed during and since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) when sea-level was around 120 m lower than today.

A rich array of samples and datasets including bathymetry, backscatter, conductivity, temperature, oxygen and current profiles, atmospheric and weather data, rocks and sediments, biota including hard, soft and black corals, sponges, jellies and plankton, and terabytes of high-resolution imagery data have been collected. Such a multi-disciplinary suite of datasets will provide new insights into the geological evolution, biodiversity distribution and key ecological features and processes of Australia’s marine frontier, as well as providing museum samples for taxonomic description and classification.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Captain, crew, engineers and marine technicians of RV Falkor, the pilots and technicians of ROV SuBastian, and all of the Schmidt Ocean Institute shoreside support team. Thanks also to the many scientists and students, who participated on these research voyages and continue to advance our understanding of Australia’s marine estate. Research permits were supplied by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Parks Australia.

My name is Mardi McNeil, and I have recently completed my PhD in marine geoscience at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and was the 2018 ACRS Terry Walker Award Grant recipient. My research interest is in reef carbonate sedimentology, geomorphology and their associated processes. In the second half of a challenging 2020, I was fortunate to spend almost four months living and working aboard the RV Falkor over three research voyages along the outer Great Barrier Reef and Queensland Plateau. This article showcases the voyages.