Deep Sea Coral Research & Technology Program—Research Projects

In 2009, NOAA started conducting deep-sea coral research in U.S. waters using advanced underwater technologies to better understand deep-sea coral habitats and help inform fisheries management decisions. We are conducting three-year field efforts in each of seven regions to research, map, and characterize deep-sea coral habitats in selected regions. In addition to these field activities, the Program is also funding targeted analyses to integrate existing research on—and known locations of—deep-sea corals; conducting workshops to further identify management-driven deep-sea coral exploration and research needs and to identify the minimum requirements to address deep-sea coral data and information management needs; analyzing the distribution and intensity of fishing practices that may impact these corals; and improving the reporting and analysis of bycatch of deep-sea corals caught in commercial fishing activities. Click on any of the projects below to learn more about our work.

• National Projects

  National Deep-Sea Coral Data and GIS Management (ongoing)

  Planning Workshop for the State of Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems Report (2011)

  Igniting a Discourse on Deep-Sea Sponge Science and Conservation (2011)

• Alaska Region

  Three-year Field Research Project (2012-2014)
  Planning is underway for fieldwork beginning in 2012.

  Targeted Analyses

  Identifying the Location of Aleutian Island Corals from Archived Video Footage (2011)

  Assessing the Effectiveness of the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area in Protecting Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Habitat (2011)

  A Field Guide to the Deepwater Sponges of the Aleutian Islands Archipelago (2009)

• West Coast Region

  Three-year Field Research Project (2010-2012)

  In consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, we gather information needed to better understand the location, distribution, status, and health of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems to inform conservation and management actions. The research will inform the Council’s five-year review of measures to protect essential fish habitat for groundfish as well as contribute to improving management within NOAA’s five West Coast national marine sanctuaries.

  Signature Expeditions

  2011 Bodega Canyon Cruise: Using an autonomous underwater vehicle, this cruise photographed parts of the canyon that have never before been explored.

  2010 West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Expedition: Cruise aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur II to explore deep-sea coral habitats in and around several of the national marine sanctuaries from Washington's Olympic Coast to the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California.

  Targeted Analyses

  Analysis and Visualization of Deep-Sea Coral and Commercial Fishing Interactions in Southern California (2011)

  Relating Distribution and Abundance of Deep-sea Corals and Sponges to Habitats using Predictive Models and Broad-scale Seafloor Maps (2011)

  Taxonomic and Genetic Identification of Fisheries Bycatch of Deep-Sea Corals (2009-2011)

  Analyzing Coral Bycatch Information in the Context of Bottom Trawling Intensity off the U.S. West Coast (2011)

  Habitat Suitability Modeling for Deep-Sea Corals off the U.S. West Coast (2010)

  Evaluation of Predicted Coral and Sponge Habitat within Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (2010)

  Assessing Deep-Sea Coral Communities from Archived Video Surveys off California (2010)

  Enhancing the West Coast Regional Deep-Sea Coral Database (2009)

  Deep-Sea Coral Community Research off California (2009)

  Using Cordell Bank as a Model to Conduct Fine-Scale Deep-Sea Coral Predictive Habitat Modeling (2009)

  Mapping the Distribution and Intensity of Bottom Trawling Effort Along the California Coast from 1997 to 2008, with Impacts to Deep-Sea Corals (2009)

• Pacific Islands Region

  Targeted Analyses

  Predictive Modeling of the Distribution of Deep-Sea Corals in the Main Hawaiian Islands (2010)

• Northeast Region

  Three-year Field Research Project (2013-2015)

  A workshop was held in 2011 to set research priorities for the three-year fieldwork beginning in 2013.

  Targeted Analyses

  Modeling of Suitable Habitats for Deep-Sea Corals in the US Northwest Atlantic (2011)

  Creation of Ultra-High Resolution Multibeam Sonar Images Targeting Deep-Sea Coral Habitats in Hudson Canyon (2010)

  Deriving Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Distribution Data from Archived Video Records in Northeast U.S. (2009)

  Mapping the Intensity of Fishing in the Northeast Using Gears That May Damage Deep-Sea Corals (2009)

• South Atlantic Region

  Three-year Field Research Project(2009-2011)

  In coordination with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, mapping and research efforts focus on requirements to locate and map locations of deep-sea corals and conduct research to provide key information needed to protect deep-sea coral habitats in this region.

  Signature Expeditions

  Extreme Corals 2011: Cruise to explore hard grounds out to 500 meters depth off the coast of southern Florida, with emphasis on assessing areas that are near coral habitat, but still open to bottom fishing activities.

  Life on the Edge: Extreme Corals 2010: Cruise surveying deep-sea coral ecosystems from Pourtales Terrace off the Florida Keys to the Jacksonville, Florida. Included lithoherms that were recently designated as protected areas.

  2009 Southeast Submersible Cruise: Cruise off Cape Canaveral, Florida, to examine deep-sea coral ecosystems and compare them with non-reef environments.

  Targeted Analyses

  Growth Rates in Deep-Sea Stylasterid Corals off the Southeastern U.S. (2010)

  Mapping of Hook and Line Fishing Effort Relative to Deep Coral Ecosystems in the South Atlantic Bight (2010)

  Protecting Deep Reefs: Correlating Deep Coral Locations with VMS Data on Fishing Locations (2010)

  Integration of South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishing Intensity Data Sets into a Spatially Explicit Data Warehouse (2009-2010)

  Analysis of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sonar Data from Deepwater Coral Habitats (2009)

  Analysis and Distribution of Deepwater Commercial Fisheries Species in Deepwater Coral Habitats off Eastern Florida (2009)

  Integrating Mapping and Fisheries Data for Deep-Sea Coral Habitats off South Carolina and Georgia (2009)

• Gulf of Mexico Region

  Targeted Analyses

  Habitat Suitability Modeling for Deep-Sea Corals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (2011)

  Cold-Water Coral Geographic Database Update for the Gulf of Mexico (2010)

  Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Deep-Sea Coral Investigations (2009)