An international group of scientists, in which researcher Ariadna Mechó, from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), has participated, has discovered more than half a dozen species potentially new to science in the seamounts of the coast of Chile. In total, the expedition observed 160 species whose existence was unknown in this region.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition identified deep-sea corals, glass sponges, sea urchins, squid, fish, mollusks, crabs, starfish and other species never before observed by scientists. The discovery took place in the seamounts of the Dorsal de Salas y Gómez, a remote and little explored area that extends from the coasts of Chile to Rapa Nui,
Mechó, a researcher in the Climate Variability and Change group of the BSC Department of Earth Sciences, presented the results of the 40-day scientific expedition at the Ocean Decade Conference held in Barcelona.
"We have found between 50 and 60 potentially new species with the naked eye, a number that will probably increase when we work through all the samples we have in the laboratory," said Mechó. They have also found one of the deepest mesophotic corals in the world, which expands The distribution of this Polynesian fauna spans several hundred kilometers. “And at depth, we have found fields of sponges and corals, habitats considered vulnerable and in need of protection,” stated Mechó.
The information collected by this scientific expedition will provide the basis to inform the management of existing marine protected areas and potentially expand them, especially around the island of Rapa Nui.
Funded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the mission has focused on studying the ecosystems of the underwater mountains and oceanic islands of the Salas y Gómez Ridge. This underwater mountain range is 2,900 kilometers long and includes more than 200 seamounts from the coast of Chile to Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island.
This mountain range is home to one of the most unique and biodiverse seascapes on Earth, with a very high rate of endemism, critical habitats for benthic organisms, essential migratory corridors for highly mobile species, and the presence of more than 80 threatened or endangered species. extinction. In addition, the Salas y Gómez ridge has a rich cultural and maritime heritage with connections to indigenous island and continental communities.
This remote and underexplored region is home to pristine, unexploited habitats with abundant biodiversity that require international cooperation to protect before they disappear.
The role of the BSC and supercomputing in the campaign is to provide climate modeling data across different scenarios to establish the distribution of species in the area. This will help us understand how these species will be affected by future changes, based on each possible scenario. "But first, we need to better understand the biodiversity and connectivity of the region to know exactly which species are found there and in which mountains, as well as possible changes in faunal communities. Basically, this is a unique exploration in places where almost everything is unexplored," said Mechó.
The objective is to provide the necessary information to support the designation of the Salas y Gómez Ridge as a marine area of ecological and biological importance (EBSA) by the Convention on Biological Diversity and an ecological and socioeconomic "priority area" for international protection, by the High Seas Treaty (2023).
This cruise is connected to a previous campaign developed between January and February 2024 and focused on the study of the junction between Salas y Gómez and the Nazca Ridge, and the Desventuradas Islands.
During the two cruises, more than 100 new species have been discovered in Salas y Gómez and the Nazca Ridge, as well as coral and sponge gardens, highlighting the need to create a blue corridor along both ridges, creating one of the first and largest marine protected areas on the planet.
Ariadna Mechó has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement.
