RAPID: Seamount research with Eye-in-the-Sea

少年派最近被邀请与西尔维亚·厄尔、里克·斯塔尔、布鲁斯·罗宾逊和豪尔赫·科尔特斯(来自哥斯达黎加)一起参加国家地理赞助的一次研究巡航，以探索哥斯达黎加科科斯群岛以南30英里处一片基本上没有研究过的海山地区(太平洋一侧)。其目标是收集科学数据，以支持哥斯达黎加环保界提出的将该地区变成海洋保护区的提议。PI希望利用这个难得的机会使用新的低成本版本的海眼(EITS)。许多像这次探险中使用的深海潜水器没有足够的有效载荷来容纳整个EITS系统，这限制了其一般用途。最近，在澳大利亚研究委员会的资助下，工程师们能够设计出新的低成本、着陆器版本的海眼。为了利用这个独特的机会，PI要求快速获得建造这些低成本、着陆器版本的海眼之一的合同。由于海山蕴藏着非常多的特有物种，它们代表着发现新物种的令人兴奋的前沿。从来没有人像海中眼这样拥有不引人注目的天文台来探索海山。这是一个难得的机会，既可以发现新的生物多样性，也可以提高公众对保护这些宝贵和脆弱的生物多样性热点地区的认识。更广泛的影响考察队的主要目标是获得科学数据和图像，以支持在科科斯以南30英里的海山地区建立1900平方公里海洋保护区的提议。为了利用哥斯达黎加保育界的努力，教科文组织将收集关于生活在海山上的鱼类和无脊椎动物的丰富数据，这些鱼类和无脊椎动物受到捕捞的威胁，特别注重鱼类聚集物。PI将在船上写博客(英语和西班牙语)，就像其他国家地理探险队所做的那样。此外，正在计划为哥斯达黎加电视台和国家地理国际频道制作一部纪录片。此外，这次考察中的三位资深科学家，Sylvia Earle博士(国家地理探险家常驻)、Bruce Robison博士(MBARI高级科学家)和Widder博士广泛参与公共宣传，就海洋管理的必要性发表了热情的讲话，并被邀请参加多次公开演讲活动，毫无疑问，这次考察的结果将在这些活动中展示。

The PI was recently been invited, along with Sylvia Earle, Rick Starr, Bruce Robison, and Jorge Cortes (from Costa Rica) to participate in a National Geographic sponsored research cruise to explore a largely unstudied seamount area 30 miles south of the Cocos Islands, Costa Rica (Pacific side). The goal is to collect scientific data in support of a proposal by the conservation community in Costa Rica to make this area into a marine reserve. The PI would like to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to use a new low-cost version of the Eye-in-the-Sea (EITS).Many deep sea submersibles like the one being used on this expedition do not have adequate payloads to accommodate the full EITS system, this has limited its general utility. Recently, with funding from Australian Research Council the engineers were able to design new low-cost, lander-version of the Eye-in-the-Sea. The PI has requested a RAPID award to construct one of these low-cost, lander-versions of the Eye-in-the-Sea to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Because seamounts harbor exceptional numbers of endemic species they represent an exciting frontier for the discovery of new species. No one has ever explored a seamount with an unobtrusive observatory like the Eye-in-the-Sea. This is an exceptional chance for new discovery as well as raising public awareness of the need to protect these precious and fragile biodiversity hotspots. Broader ImpactsThe primary goal of the expedition is to obtain scientific data and images to support a proposal to create a 1,900 km2 marine reserve on a seamount area 30 miles south of Cocos. To leverage the efforts of the conservation community in Costa Rica, will collect data on the abundance of fishes and invertebrates - that are threatened by fishing - living on the seamounts, with particular emphasis on fish aggregations. The PI will be blogging (in English and Spanish) from the ship as has been done for other National Geographic expeditions. In addition, a documentary for Costa Rican TV and hopefully also for National Geographic international channels is being planned. Further the three senior scientists on this expedition, Dr. Sylvia Earle (National Geographic Explorer in Residence), Dr. Bruce Robison (MBARI Senior Scientist) and Dr. Widder have been extensively involved in public outreach, speak passionately on the need for ocean stewardship, and are called upon for numerous public speaking engagements where results from this expedition will undoubtedly be presented.