NUS scientists set to explore underwater mountains in Indian Ocean

Expedition team to use new technologies to learn more about the oases of biodiversity

- Audrey Tan Assistant News Editor

Marine scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) are preparing for a research foray to international waters in October, with plans to use novel technologies to learn more about seamounts in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Seamounts are underwater mountains known to be oases of biodiversity, said Dr Tan Koh Siang, who heads the marine biology and ecology laboratory at the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute.

But of the estimated 14,000 seamounts globally, fewer than 500 have been examined, added Dr Tan, who is part of the 21-member research team from Singapore and the region.

"A key objective of the expedition is to characterise marine life in this part of the Indian Ocean that is poorly known and to focus on seamounts as far as possible," he told The Straits Times in early September.

The expedition was announced by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan during the UN Ocean Conference in June.

He said Singapore scientists will be going in October on a deep sea expedition with US-based, nonprofit OceanX, aboard its OceanXplorer scientific vessel.

ST reported then that the 3½-week expedition will take place in the international waters of the Christmas Island Seamount Province.

The deepest depths that will be explored will be about 4,000m. The waters around Singapore have depths of between 20m and 40m.

Dr Tan said the expedition will mark the research team's first sortie into exploring seamount biodiversity.

When deep ocean currents strike a seamount, an upwelling of nutrient-rich water occurs, he noted.

This could cause a proliferation of plankton, the microscopic base of many oceanic food chains.

Their presence in turn supports distinct and complex food webs in the area associated with high biodiversity, he added.