THE BURDWOOD BANK

In support of this, research is being conducted on the offshore region of the Burdwood Bank, an area known to be important for seabirds and mammals, and believed to house high benthic biodiversity according to some studies, e.g. high diversity of cold-water coral species. It’s important that we have a better understanding of the Bank’s ecology as the area is likely to be very important in the face of ongoing climate change. Because it’s located at the southern edge of the continental shelf, it’s the ‘last stop’ for many species who’s ranges are shifting South with climate change. Beyond this, the ocean plummets to great depths, which some species cannot survive and/or cross. Being able to understand an ecological baseline for the region should help us to better understand it and manage it, as it will allow us to identify any ecosystem shifts in the long run. The Bank is also thought to be important for blue carbon ecosystem services, meaning that the area may help to trap greenhouse gases from the atmosphere over long periods of time and store them. From other areas that perform these vital services, we know that destroying these ecosystems could mean lower capacity for the oceans to store carbon in the long term, which could have further implications for climate change.

Example of specimens separated from the gravel in the trawl (A), as well as a small example of individual organisms preserved. 
These are, by class: (B) an Anthozoa, (C) an Ophiuroidea, (D) Malacostraca, (E) Pycnogonida, (F) Echinoidea, and (G) Holothuroidae. Figure A courtesy of A Roman Gonzalez, pictures B to G taken by CJ Sands.

The Burdwood Bank is obviously quite far South in an area of rough and dangerous seas, so the British Antarctic Survey, as a partner in the project, has helped to make research on the Burdwood Bank a reality. In early December 2019 we boarded the Royal Research Ship James Clark Ross (JCR), and made our way down to the Bank. There we deployed scientific equipment, like a multibeam ecosounder and TOPAS (sub-bottom profiler) to map the sea floor, and mini Agassiz Trawls to minimize impact – that collected animals from depths of 400 to 1300 m for study. We have mapped a 6,096.44 km2 area at high definition and collected over 365 different samples (total number of animals collected has not been processed yet). These will be identified by experts in the UK and at the Italian National Antarctic Museum in Genoa, Italy, and genetically mapped by the British Antarctic Survey. We hope to have some new species discovered and named! Thanks to this key information, we will be able to make the most of a longer research trip on the JCR in summer 2019/2020, that will include photographing the seafloor with a SUCS (Shelf Underwater Camera System) lander.