The Falkland Escarpment is part of a sheared continental margin segment that formed during the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean approximately 100 – 140 million years ago in the Argentine Basin. This is one of the most prominent geological and morphological features within the South Atlantic Ocean.
This expedition was focused on exploring this relatively unknown deep-sea region in collaboration with Inkfish and their Open Ocean Program. Our team set onboard the Research Vessel Dagon for this expedition on 10th of February from Punta Arenas (Chile) and finished by 6th of March 2025.
Among the sampling methods used during this expedition were scientific landers that free-fall to the seafloor carrying multiple cameras to acquire high-definition video footage of marine species, collect species and water samples for eDNA analysis and CTD sensors that measure physical properties (conductivity, temperature and depth) across the water column. We employed a hull mounted sonar on the RV Dragon vessel to map the underwater landscape while the Bakunawa submersible was used for scientific dives to observe the seafloor biodiversity and geodiversity.
The combined data collected during this expedition will allow the scientific team to explore large scale patters of species biodiversity and abundance, genetic links, habitat characteristics, complex geological and geomorphology traits of the Falkland Escarpment and Falkland Plateau.
Summary
32 days at sea
27,410 km2 of seafloor mapped (11.4% new)
32 landers deployed with 360 hours of video footage
3 submersible dives with 11 hours of video footage
482 eDNA samples
304 Identified species
Expedition Team
Chief Scientist - Dr Jessica Kolbusz
Co-Chief Scientist - Dr Devin Harrison
Expedition Scientists - Alfredo Marchio, Melanie Stott
The lines on the map show water depth every 500 meters, starting from sea level at the edge of the land (shown in brown). Credit: Dr Devin Harrison and GEBCO23, a global ocean mapping project
During this expedition, we were joined by Amy Guest, a PhD student from the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, who participated as an observer and contributed articles to the local Falkland Islands newspaper. A Spanish version is also available.
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