NUS-OceanX voyage reveals marine life in uncharted deep waters

Research can provide better understanding of how to protect biodiversity hot spots

- Zhaki Abdullah

Deep-sea sharks with glowing bodies, known as lantern sharks, and chimaeras, a type of deep-sea fish related to sharks and rays, were some of the sights observed by a research team on board a scientific vessel during a 31/2-week expedition to study a largely unexplored part of the eastern Indian Ocean.

Over 24 days, the Into the Deep: Monsoon Rise expedition mapped more than 8,300 sq km of seafloor, about 70 per cent of which had not previously been explored.

An initiative of NUS and OceanX, a US-based nonprofit group that operates the OceanXplorer scientific vessel, the expedition explored Monsoon Rise, the seamount province in the international waters off Christmas Island.

The team, which comprised researchers from Singapore, other parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as well as the US, returned to port on Oct 28, docking at the Marina at Keppel Bay.

The 21-member research team included scientists from the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, in addition to researchers from NTU, as well as from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Fiji.

Members of the team spoke to reporters at a briefing, held at the Bleu restaurant at Keppel Bay on Oct 29, following their expedition.