NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) has embarked on a series of science cruises to support long-term restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico. This effort will advance their ability to understand, manage, and restore mesophotic and deep benthic communities impacted or damaged by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as part of the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) restoration type under NOAA's Open Ocean Restoration Plan.
Peter Etnoyer, the Chief Scientist in charge of the SALT missions under the MDBC portfolio, and scientist Ren Salgado of Hollings Marine Laboratory, with Kassidy Lange, graduate student at College of Charleston, are managing the live coral husbandry and collection in situ environmental data.
NOAA is deploying TCM-1 tilt current meters while aboard the University of Southern Mississippi’s Research Vessel (R/V) Point Sur. The TCM-1s are attached to lead diving weights and dropped over the side of the vessel to depths of 52 to 65 meters. The meters are then repositioned and/or recovered by a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). The ROV Mohawk was used in June and October of 2022 while the ROV Beagle deployed was used in June of 2023.
The information the TCM-1s provide is the velocity, direction and temperature of currents in and around sea fan coral assemblages. Sea fans are suspension feeding animals injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The specific habitats they find useful is adjacent to low relief ridges, ledges, and canyons in the mesophotic zone. "We are deploying the TCM-1s in concert with ADCP landers, as an easy and inexpensive way to add calibration and context to the oceanography data." said Etnoyer
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Products used for this application
300 Meter Depth Rating
- Rugged, compact, low maintenance design
- Easy to deploy from a small boat or with a diver
- 1 year battery life
- 8GB microSD memory card