Photo: Scott Island with Haggit’s Pillar to the left. By John Mitchell
By John Mitchell, Voyage Leader
After completion of the first abyssal station in the northern part of our survey – at a depth of 3500m – we moved on to our last seamount station next to Scott Island. Scott Island is very small (400m by 200m) and isolated, lying about 310 nautical miles northeast from Cape Adare. Its companion – Haggit’s Pillar – is an impressive 62m high volcanic stack sitting 200m northwest of the island. We are sampling in this area to compare the biodiversity with that of the Balleny Islands some 500 nautical miles to the west that have been sampled in earlier expeditions by Tangaroa. Scott Island was first discovered in December 1902 by Lieutenant Colbeck on the vessel Morning while heading south to supply Scott’s 1901-04 expedition on HMS Discovery.
Photo: Haggit’s Pillar with Scott Island in the background. by John Mitchell.
The benthic community around Scott Island is very abundant compared to the seamounts that we sampled further south on this chain last week. The seabed in waters shallower than 400m is covered with numerous sea pens, brittle stars, anemones, and sea stars (Fig. 4). A seabed of solid volcanic rock and rubble in some areas often made the sampling difficult (Fig. 5).
Photo: Typical soft-sediment seabed community at Scott Island, with numerous brittle stars. DTIS
Photo: Exposed volcanic rock on the seabed of Scott Island, showing flow structures in the rock formed during eruption. DTIS
We’ve now finished sampling in this area and are moving west to the Admiralty Seamount chain about 250 nautical miles to the west, in between the Balleny Islands and Scott Island.
See the Science Report on CAML-Cousteau Expedition tracking page
From February until mid-March 2008, New Zealand scientists are embarking on an eight-week voyage to the Ross Sea to survey the marine environment and explore the variety of life forms (biodiversity) in the region. This is part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life and scientists on board will also contribute to the NZ Science Learning Hub for teachers and students. Follow all CAML expeditions routes on the CAML-Cousteau Expedition tracking page.