Challenger 150

Home
About Us
Our Work
Resources
Contact Us

Challenger 150

Outputs

HomeOutputs

Home
About Us
Our Work
Resources
Contact Us

Publications

Annual Highlights

Social Feed

The @aleutbio project has now reached its final mi

The @aleutbio project has now reached its final milestone with the publication of a landmark Special Issue bringing together years of international deep-sea research and discovery 🌊

Centred on the SO293 expedition aboard RV Sonne in 2022, AleutBio explored the abyssal and hadal depths of the eastern Aleutian Trench - one of the least explored deep-sea regions on Earth.

🔬 Highlights from the Special Issue include:
• 36,000+ new biodiversity records below 3,500m
• Numerous species new to science
• New insights into deep-sea connectivity and climate-driven ecosystem change

The project contributes to @unoceandecade and the Challenger 150 programme, helping expand our understanding of life in the deep North Pacific.

Read more via the link in bio.

#AleutBio #Challenger150 #DeepSeaScience #OceanScience #MarineBiology

🌊 From pixels to policy Across the Atlantic, seab

🌊 From pixels to policy

Across the Atlantic, seabed imagery is growing fast - but much of its potential remains untapped.

At the All-Atlantic Ocean Research & Innovation Alliance Forum 2026, this side event will explore how visual biodiversity data can be better standardised, shared, and used to inform decision-making.

The session also marks the launch of Coral Cartography, a new UN Ocean Decade Action under Challenger 150.

📍 14 April | Brazil
🔗 Link in bio to register

Because turning data into action is the next step for deep-sea science.

#OceanDecade #DeepSeaScience #CoralCartography #Challenger150 #OceanGovernance

Challenger 150 will be part of the Deep-Ocean Scie

Challenger 150 will be part of the Deep-Ocean Science Town Hall at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026.

As a UN Ocean Decade programme, Challenger 150 coordinates deep-sea science across regions and disciplines - supporting shared training, basin-scale collaboration, and comparable data.

The Town Hall is a space to listen and reflect on what’s needed for the second half of the Decade.

📅 25 February 2026
🔗 Session details: Link in bio

#Challenger150 #DeepSeaScience #OceanDecade #OSM2026

🇦🇷 Ongoing: Life in Extremes - Cold Seeps of Argen

🇦🇷 Ongoing: Life in Extremes - Cold Seeps of Argentina

The @schmidtocean expedition “Life in Extremes - Cold Seeps of Argentina” @vidaenlosextremos is currently underway, building on discoveries from the recent “Visualizing the Deep off Uruguay” cruise.

🔗 That expedition:
• Explored deep benthic ecosystems along the continental margin
• Documented coral gardens, chemosynthetic ecosystems, and vulnerable marine ecosystems
• Generated openly accessible data to strengthen regional knowledge

Cold seeps are powered by methane and other energy-rich fluids, sustaining life through chemosynthesis rather than sunlight - making them critical (and still poorly understood) deep-sea ecosystems.

🇦🇷 Now, with a scientific team on board led by Dr. María Emilia Bravo (University of Buenos Aires / CONICET), RV Falkor (too) is off the coast of Argentina:
• Investigating biodiversity and ecosystem function at cold seeps
• Strengthening regional and international scientific collaboration
• Building a shared baseline to support long-term monitoring and stewardship

This work reflects philanthropy-enabled deep-sea science - expanding access to technology, data, and collaboration for scientists across the South Atlantic.

📸 Image from the “Visualizing the Deep off Uruguay” cruise
Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute | ROV SuBastian | SOI Divestream team

#Challenger150 #DeepSea #ColdSeeps #Chemosynthesis #SouthAtlantic

⛰️ The Northeast Pacific is home to an incredible

⛰️ The Northeast Pacific is home to an incredible concentration of seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold seeps - globally rare hotspots of biodiversity.

During this expedition, the team revisited the Tuzo Wilson Seamount complex, where in 2023 they discovered skate species laying giant eggs within coral gardens and venting warm water.

Through collaboration between Indigenous Nations and partners, and using advanced mapping and ROV Mantis, the team:
✨ Documented seamount ecosystems
✨ Explored coral and sponge habitats
✨ Studied cold seeps that sustain unique life forms through chemosynthesis

These habitats are vital for species from rockfish to halibut - and for the communities that depend on them.

📸 Credit: NEPDEP expedition partners, ROV Mantis, Julian Smith / Fisheries & Oceans Canada

#Challenger150 #nepdep #DeepSeaScience #KnowTheOcean #HaidaNation #NuuChahNulth #OceanDecade
Partners: @nepdep_ @ocean_networks @chn_haidanation @uuathluk @FisheriesOceansCan

🌊 The 2025 NEPDEP - Seamounts and Mapping Expediti

🌊 The 2025 NEPDEP - Seamounts and Mapping Expedition wrapped up this September!

From Sept 4-18, the Council of the Haida Nation, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ocean Networks Canada, the Royal BC Museum, and the University of Victoria came together to explore deep-sea ecosystems offshore Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.

🔑 Why it matters:
- Seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold seeps are biodiversity hotspots 🌍
- These ecosystems are vital to culture, food, and ocean health
- Data collected will inform future conservation and management decisions

The team mapped the seafloor, documented marine life with ROV Mantis, and shared discoveries throughout the expedition.

🔗 Learn more: nepdep.com/2025expeditionseamounts
📸 Credit: Julian Smith, Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Pêches et Océans Canada (images may be from current or previous NEPDEP cruises)

#Challenger150 #nepdep #KnowTheOcean #HaidaNation #NuuChahNulth #DeepSea #OceanDecade
Partners: @nepdep_ @ocean_networks @chn_haidanation @uuathluk @FisheriesOceansCan @CoastGuardCAN

🧭 The #URUGUAYSUB200 expedition is about more than

🧭 The #URUGUAYSUB200 expedition is about more than discovery — it’s about collaboration.

For the first time, Uruguayan scientists will have access to an ROV capable of diving to 4,500 meters. Together with colleagues from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Germany, they will map biodiversity along the continental slope and study ecosystems that have remained unseen until now.

🔑 Mission highlights:
🔹Led by Dr. Álvar Carranza, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
🔹First ROV dives of their kind in Uruguay
🔹Exploration of coral gardens, sponge fields, and cold seeps
🔹Data contributing to the goal of protecting 30% of Uruguay’s land & sea by 2030 🌍

This expedition exemplifies international science partnerships — knowledge shared for the benefit of all.

🔗 Follow the journey: schmidtocean.org/cruise/visualizing-the-deep-off-uruguay

📸 Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute

#Challenger150 #VisualizingTheDeep #DeepSeaScience #InternationalCollaboration #OceanDecade #30x30
Partner: @schmidtocean

🌊 Off the coast of Uruguay, the mighty Río de la P

🌊 Off the coast of Uruguay, the mighty Río de la Plata meets the Atlantic — creating one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the South Atlantic. Yet the deep ocean here has never been systematically studied… until now.

The #URUGUAYSUB200 expedition aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) is the most comprehensive study of Uruguay’s continental shelf break and deep ocean ecosystems to date.

Led by Dr. Álvar Carranza (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), the international team will use ROV SuBastian to document fragile habitats such as:
✨ Cold-water coral reefs
✨ Sponge gardens
✨ Cold seeps and chemosynthetic communities

This work will expand understanding of Uruguay’s unique deep-sea environments and provide essential knowledge for future ocean management. 🌍

🔗 Learn more: challenger150.world/visualizing-the-deep-off-uruguay

📸 Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute
Partner: @schmidtocean

#Challenger150 #VisualizingTheDeep #DeepSea #MarineScience #OceanDecade #Uruguay #SouthAtlantic

Right now @schmidtocean and @udelar_uy are explori

Right now @schmidtocean and @udelar_uy are exploring station 320 of the global Challenger Expedition as part of their #UruguaySub200 research cruise. This site has not been visited for 150 years! We are excited to see what they find, although it is likely to be very flat mud suitable for a 19th century trawl. Their data will contribute to the Challenger150 programme, a global cooperative aimed at understanding life in the deep ocean as part of the @unoceandecade.

🌍 Fixing the Gaps: Where Should We Focus Biodivers

🌍 Fixing the Gaps: Where Should We Focus Biodiversity Efforts?

The message is clear: global marine data is unbalanced—and it’s costing us.

This new study reveals where we urgently need to focus efforts to build a sustainable, inclusive ocean knowledge base:

🌐 Deep-water regions of the Southern Hemisphere
🪸 Benthic and pelagic invertebrate communities
📍 Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ)
🐟 Pelagic communities below 2000 m

📊 These aren’t just scientific blind spots—they’re barriers to effective ocean protection. Without representative data, we risk leaving entire ecosystems out of climate models, biodiversity targets, and global conservation funding.

🌱 That’s why we need action, not just insight.
If you’re part of the philanthropic or policy world, this is your invitation:
Support the science that makes sustainable ocean management possible.

📖 Read the full #openaccess paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02442-7

#Challenger150 #UNOceanDecade #OceanPhilanthropy #ScienceForSustainability #MarineBiodiversity #BluePlanet #DeepOcean #ABNJ #30x30 #OceanEquity #NatureComms

📷: NERC funded Deep Links Project - Plymouth University, Oxford University, JNCC, BGS

And it’s not just the seafloor. The open ocean has

And it’s not just the seafloor. The open ocean has its own data problem…

🔍 In the pelagic zone (the open water column), this new study reveals:
50% of records come from the top 80 m
76% are from the Northern Hemisphere
That means vast regions of the ocean – especially the deep, open waters of the Southern Hemisphere – are still largely unknown to science.

⚠️ Why it matters:
Pelagic biodiversity is vital for global fisheries, carbon cycling, and climate stability.
If we’re building marine policy and modelling on such patchy data, we’re risking blind spots in conservation.

🎯 The researchers call for urgent prioritisation of:
- Deep-water zones
- Under-sampled taxa like invertebrates
- Remote areas beyond national borders

📖 Full #openaccess paper available here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02442-7

#UNOceanDecade #Challenger150 #DeepOcean #PelagicScience #OceanData #ScienceForSustainability #BluePlanet #OceanEquity

📷: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploring the Musicians Seamounts.

🔍 Mapping the Gaps: New Global Assessment Reveals

🔍 Mapping the Gaps: New Global Assessment Reveals Stark Biases in Ocean Biodiversity Data

Despite decades of ocean exploration, we still can’t fully answer one of the most basic questions:
🌊 Where is marine life found - and why?
A new study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment uncovers the shocking imbalance in our knowledge of deep-sea life.

💥 Key findings from the benthic dataset:
• 50% of records come from just 1% of the shallowest seafloor
• 80% come from the Northern Hemisphere
• Major gaps remain in the deep ocean, particularly in southern waters and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ)
• Invertebrates - which make up most of marine life - are significantly underrepresented

🧠 These gaps matter. Biodiversity data inform everything from marine protected areas to climate models. And if your model is trained mostly on fish near the surface, it won’t protect deep-sea ecosystems 3,000 meters down.

📖 Want to dive deeper? The full #openaccess paper is linked here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02442-7

#Challenger150 #UNOceanDecade #OceanScience #MarineBiodiversity #DeepSea #OceanConservation #NatureComms

📷 Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Follow us on Instagram

Recent News

Project: AleutBio

May 13, 2026 News & Updates, Publications

Advancing Deep-Sea Knowledge in the South Atlantic

February 17, 2026 Cruises, News & Updates

About

What We Do
Background
Partners
Governance Structure
Regional Working Groups
Technical Scientific Research Working Groups (TSR-WGs)
The African Network of Deep-water Researchers (ANDR)

Our Work

Research
Training

Outreach

Events
Contact Us

Instagram Youtube Linkedin

AncoraThemes © 2026. All Rights Reserved.

to top