To conduct an unprecedented study of the biodiversity surrounding the Titanic wreck, a team of scientists plans to employ environmental genomics analysis, aiming to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem.
OceanGate Expeditions, an ocean exploration company, and eDNAtec, an environmental genomics organization, have announced their collaboration to collect water samples around the Titanic shipwreck, with a focus on studying the microscopic life forms thriving in the area.
By delving into the depths of the ocean, the researchers hope to unveil previously unknown insights about the organisms inhabiting this unique habitat.
Described as groundbreaking deep-sea research, this endeavor will contribute significantly to our knowledge of the deep water environment.
Dr. Steve W. Ross, an expert in marine biology, expressed his anticipation of gaining a different perspective on this exceptional habitat and emphasized the importance of expanding our shared DNA datasets of deep-water organisms.
The findings of this study will serve as valuable resources for future research and comparisons, benefitting researchers, marine biologists, and scientists.
Life On The Seafloor
The Titanic, which embarked on its ill-fated journey from Southampton, U.K., to New York on April 10, 1912, sank five days later, resulting in the loss of approximately half its passengers. Now lying 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, the shipwreck supports a far more vibrant ecosystem than expected.
Remarkably, the wreck has become an entirely new ecosystem and functions as an artificial reef, providing a habitat for various organisms, including invisible life forms.
Dr. Ross explains that this includes microscopic creatures and larger animals that leave traces of DNA in the water surrounding the Titanic. This research endeavor aims to contribute to the conservation of the wreck site's ecosystem.
Currently adorned with rusticles, communities of metal-eating bacteria that slowly consume the ship's debris, the wreck is predicted to be almost entirely eroded by 2030. This urgency further highlights the need to document and preserve the historical site, safeguarding it from further damage.
Also Read: Is the Titanic Submersible Story A Distraction So You Wouldn't Pay Attention To The Hunter/Durham Story?
The extraordinary spectrum of species" in the deep water
To investigate the ecosystem surrounding the Titanic before it undergoes irrevocable changes, OceanGate Expeditions conducts annual explorations of the wreck. This year, the expedition consists of a series of 8-day missions beginning and ending in St. John's, Newfoundland.
The schedule allows for up to five submersible dives during each mission, providing ample opportunities for exploration, according to OceanGate Expeditions.
While previous expeditions have revealed a plethora of organisms, Lisa Dreher from OceanGate Expeditions acknowledges that these observations have been limited.
Dreher emphasizes the mission's significance as a comprehensive survey of the wreck's biodiversity has not been conducted thus far.
She further asserts that this approach is a powerful means of surveying biodiversity as it can detect organisms of all types and sizes, ranging from tiny plankton to large fish, thereby offering a complete overview of the ecosystem.
Dr. Mehrdad Hajibabaei, a renowned expert in biodiversity genomics and the Founder and CSO of eDNAtec, asserts that their advanced eDNA sequencing approach will enable a comprehensive analysis of the ecosystem.
Leveraging high-capacity sequencing platforms that generate billions of genomic sequences, their method aims to provide a holistic understanding of the organisms present in the ecosystem.
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