Deep coral reefs, which reach depths of up to 150 metres, host unique ecological communities and are largely unexplored. The article discusses the importance of studying these reefs to gain a fuller understanding of marine habitats. Over the past four years, methods using remote operated vehicles (ROVs) have been developed to study these ecosystems effectively. Traditional scuba diving is limited to shallow depths, highlighting the need for innovative technology. The author shares personal experiences using ROVs to gather data on fish populations and coral coverage, emphasizing the significance of these deep-water studies in understanding climate change effects.
Deep coral reefs occur throughout the world and generally reach depths of up to 150 metres. They host different ecological communities from the shallow coral reefs.
Over the past four years, I've been developing cost-effective methods using remote operated vehicles (ROVs) to study deep coral reefs and how they are changing with the climate.
We can't afford to restrict our work to shallow depths; we need innovative ways to do deep marine science.
Some of the ROV cameras film continuously, and others take time-lapse photos every 10 seconds. A full survey of a reef section takes about 40 minutes.
#deep-coral-reefs #marine-ecology #remote-operated-vehicles #climate-change #understudied-ecosystems
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