2 August was our last day of benthic sampling in the Walters Shoal area before heading to our final destination -Durban, South Africa, where the science staff will depart.
And what an interesting day it was!! We spent the morning retrieving two current meter moorings that were deployed one year ago to collect data at approximately 500 m depth. We hope that these moorings will provide valuable information on the different water currents in the Walters Shoal area.
The benthic team was very surprised to find that the moorings were covered in various organisms. Hydrozoans, brittle stars, and anemones were observed. These animals use the hard surface of the mooring as substrate to settle on.
We spent the remainder of the day collecting sediment grab samples from the area. The area we sampled was shallower than previous areas on the trip, and so many different animals were observed.
After a busy few weeks, we are now in transit to Durban.
03/08/2015