Preparing the ROV Holland 1on board the Celtic Explorer. which will enhance Ireland’s growing reputation in deep-sea exploration.” In addition to its major discovery on the Moytirra Vent Field, the VENTuRE expedition has also mapped significant areas of deepwater corals in the MidAtlantic Ridge area. Like their tropical counterparts, deepwater (or coldwater) corals are colonies of simple animals resembling sea anemones that secrete calcium carbonate to protect themselves, forming extensive and delicate reefs. Over millennia, these reefs build up to form “carbonate mounds” on the seabed, which can be detected using sound waves. Because their delicate nature makes coldwater coral reefs susceptible to damage from dredging or deepwater fishing, and because they form unique ecosystems offering shelter to a wide variety of marine life, many coldwater coral reefs around the Irish coast have been declared ‘Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).’ The VENTuRE expedition has mapped the coral reefs on the western Moira Mounds and deployed the ROV Holland 1 to estimate the abundance and density of live coral. This Deepwater Remotely Operated Vehicle was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is named after John Phillip Holland from Liscannor, Co. Clare, Ireland, who was an early inventor and builder of submarines. It was designed and built by SMD Ltd (Newcastle, UK) and is designed to accommodate a wide range of user equipment without modification. Ample space is available within the vehicle frame for accommodation of scientific payload, numerous survey ports for a wide variety of equipment including multi-beam, CTD, and nutrient sensors. Numerous spare serial and I/O ports have been incorporated into the system to allow a wide range of scientific sensors to be deployed. The vehicle is equipped with a high level of auto control features, including auto hold which is invaluable in the completion of delicate scientific tasks. The vehicle is also equipped with the latest underwater camera equipment, including a HDTV camera and recording system to allow the capture of highdefinition footage for a variety of uses.
make groundbreaking new discoveries. Ireland is positioning itself as a centre for marine research from a European and international perspective and this work should be supported and welcomed.” Dr Bramley Murton of the National Oceanography Centre in the UK, who first saw clues for possible vents on an expedition aboard the UK research vessel RRS James Cook in 2008 and who led the mineralisation study on the expedition, said, “Our discovery is the first deep-sea vent field known on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores. Although people have been crossing this ocean for centuries, we are the first to reach this spot beneath the waves and witness this natural wonder. The sense of awe at what we are seeing does not fade, and now we are working hard to understand what our discovery tells us about how our planet works.” Patrick Collins from NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute, who led Ireland’s marine biological team investigating this unique ecosystem, is working in collaboration with Jon Copley of the University of Southampton to catalogue and characterise the species found at the vents. “Everyone on board is proud of this Irish discove ry, which we have called the ‘Moytirra Vent Field,’” said Collins. “Moytirra is the name of a battlefield in Irish mythology, and appropriately means ‘Plain of the Pillars.’ The largest chimney we have found is huge – more than ten metres tall – and we have named it ‘Balor’ after a legendary giant. In comparison with other vent fields, Moytirra contains some monstrous chimneys and is in an unusual setting at the bottom of a cliff—a real beauty.”
“Using the ROV’s high-definition video camera, we’ve watched unusual orange-bodied shrimp crawling around the chimneys, among clusters of tiny green limpets,” said Jon Copley. “Elsewhere there are writhing scaleworms, swirling mats of bacteria and eellike fish — a riot of life in this unlikely haven on the ocean floor.” The investigation was supported by the Marine Institute through the 2011 Ship-Time Programme of the National Development Plan under the Sea Change national marine research strategy and by the National Geographic Society, who filmed the work for inclusion in an upcoming National Geographic Channel series, Alien Deep, premiering globally in 2012. “This project clearly demonstrates Ireland’s capacity to undertake worldclass marine research on a significant scale, a capacity created through strategic national investments in facilities such as the Celtic Explorer and the Holland 1,” said Dr Peter Heffernan, Chief Executive of the Marine Institute. “This targeted use of research funding by our organisation, which has enabled senior Irish scientists to lead this survey in partnership with international colleagues, has resulted in scientific discoveries of global interest