The deep scientific expedition embarks on the 40th trip

A scientific expedition to the high seas has succeeded in the 40th year to explore the depths of the North Atlantic.

Friday morning, Rrs James Cook left the National Oceanography Center in Southampton to continue its long -term study of the Abyssal Porcupine Plaine.

Located about 500 km west of Ireland, scientists and crew will spend four weeks on board using cameras and other equipment to monitor what is happening at depths up to 5000 m.

The chief scientist of the expedition, Dr. Andrew Gates, said that BBC technology had now allowed more information than ever.

“One of the most important aspects of supported observations like these is that we can study long-term change in the deep oceans,” he said.

Last week, temperatures in the seas of the United Kingdom and Ireland soaked, with certain 4C areas warmer than normal.

The heat wave was the most intense off the west coast of Ireland, as well as in the pockets off the coast of Cornwall and Devon, according to scientists from the National Oceanography Center and the Met Office.

Dr. Gates said that the whole column of water was connected – which is happening on the surface affects the ecology of the bed on the high seas.

“The animals that live 5,000 m in very cold waters all depend on their food on the sinking particles of tiny plants and animals,” he said.

“Thus, the evolution of processes in the upper ocean can affect the quantity or quality of foods that can reach these organisms.”

Over the past 40 years, depth monitoring methods have changed considerably, partly thanks to technology.

The first expeditions would deploy most of their equipment on the side of the boat – samplers would pick up mud and water, and trawling devices would scratch the sea bed for invertebrates.

Modern technology aboard the RRS James Cook consists of submersibles, hydrophones and robotic submarine glids.

Dr. Gates said: “The amount of information we collect because we are traveling is probably the biggest change now.

“We have instruments that measure the surface ocean while we travel. It brings water to the sensors that measure carbon dioxide, temperature and salinity.”

Another element of technology used on board is hydrophones – an underwater device that detects and records ocean sounds of all directions.

The scientist, Dr. Dara Farrell, said that the devices have helped to identify the vocalization of mammals, human activity and even underwater landslides.

“We are just going to try to discover what exists,” she said.

During another deployment, she explained how she saw a line on a particular frequency of a spectrogram that looked strange.

“We have hypothesized which was due to fish that have swim bladders releasing air to change their position in water,” she said.

“Without video evidence, you are never quite sure, but it’s really cool.”

For the student at the University of Southampton, Ben Walker, this expedition will be the first.

It helps to conduct research on a specific species of amphipod, which was discovered for the first time in the abyssal porcupine plain during the first mission.

What he finds will help to contribute to his master’s degree next year, and he said he felt honored to be on the ship.

“Looking around him and seeing only the sea knowing that you are 4800 m above the seabed and that you get samples from there and that you look at them and that you can see them as they arise is an incredible feeling,” he said.