In the heart of Antarctica, EYOS has been at the forefront of groundbreaking scientific collaboration. This season, EYOS partnered with leading organizations like NOAA, Inkfish, and the National Geographic Society, supporting a range of research projects that unveiled new insights into polar ecosystems and deep-sea environments. To uncover the scope of these efforts, we spoke with Jimmy White PhD, EYOS’ Manager of Technical, Science, and Conservation Projects, who has been instrumental in facilitating these expeditions. From deploying cutting-edge submersibles to documenting rarely seen marine life, Jimmy shares how EYOS continues to bridge expedition yachting with critical scientific discovery.
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EYOS supported a range of scientific projects in Antarctica this season, partnering with organizations like NOAA, Inkfish, and National Geographic. Can you give us an overview of some of the standout projects and what made them significant?
The standout was really two fold, firstly the sheer scale of all three projects and secondly that this season was our largest fleet of science supported projects in the Antarctic. With a mix of privately funded and national programs partnering with EYOS to provide the logistical expertise in polar waters. Conventionally, research projects of this scale would solely be in the realm of National Government Programs, but as we see the private science fleet grow in both size and capability, more of the extreme remote area field work is being led by private individuals partnering with tertiary research institutions. Combined, these projects have documented the peninsula’s ecosystem from biodiversity assessments in the ocean depths to the health of bird and seal populations in the face of the avian flu outbreak.
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One of the highlights was the deep-sea exploration facilitated by Inkfish’s submersibles. What discoveries or insights emerged from these dives, and how do they contribute to our understanding of Antarctica’s underwater ecosystems?
Inkfish Antarctic program was incredibly ambitious, focusing the research effort in the South Shetland Trench exposed to the team to the Drake passage for the majority of their operation, EYOS Expedition Leader Shay Potter and Ice Pilot Simm Sokk were aboard to assist the team navigating the challenging conditions. A total of 52,766 km2 of seafloor was mapped which is equivalent to roughly half the size of Iceland. In total 63 scientific lander deployments collected over 840 hours of video footage on the seafloor. The submersible Baku conducted six dives resulting in more than 24 hours of high-definition video data of the seafloor, traversing a combined lateral distance of around 7 km. For all of us who have launched zodiacs in Antarctica and understand the challenges in doing so, for me, it really highlights the professionalism of the Inkfish team to deploy and retrieve landers that weigh 900kg and the 11 tonnes submersible in waters north of the Shetland Islands.
This is the largest data set of its kind in the region. Much of the video transects still need to be processed, but the team has uncovered some incredible discoveries including the first shark to be filmed in situ across the entire Southern Ocean, at 490m the team recorded a Southern Sleeper Shark. Also surprising the team was the exceptionally high numbers of Armoured Grenadiers, a deep water fish that is seen often in other oceans, but that is not supposed to be abundant in Antarctica. Below 2500m they were observed in very high abundance, at 3800m there were so many at the lander that it made counting individuals difficult. Some of the video transects had the highest abundance of fish that have been seen across Inkfish global hadal zone research. More is to come as the team reviews the video transects and begins the publication of the data, watch this space.
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With NOAA’s ongoing work on climate and oceanographic monitoring, how did EYOS assist in collecting critical data?
EYOS has been supporting NOAA with their rebuilding and transportation to their base at Cape Shirreff for the last three years, this season we were able to also assist them with a more science-based expedition all along the South Shetlands. The challenging small boat operations were handled by EYOS Expedition Leader Ian Strachan, putting the biologists onshore at fur seal colonies that hadn’t been visited in decades all along the windward coastlines from Elephant Island to Livingston. The team also retrieved an underwater drone that has been surveying the Bransfield Strait for two months and assisted with both the opening and closing of the Copa Cabana base for the season.
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National Geographic Society’s Perpetual Planet project continues to push the boundaries of exploration and environmental storytelling. What role did EYOS play in supporting their work this season, and were there any unexpected discoveries along the way?
The National Geographic Society voyage aboard RV Falkor Too was a complex undertaking, a multi-disciplinary research team aboard a vessel that was making its first Antarctic voyage. National Geographic Society Explorers, storytellers and educators conducted a comprehensive scientific examination in the Southern Ocean’s Weddell Sea via a groundbreaking sea ice to seafloor transect. The multidisciplinary team of 18 scientists, with expertise in oceanography, marine ecology, climate science, geology, wildlife health and migration, and community-based conservation, documented vital marine processes in this critical yet understudied region. Over the 21-day field research expedition, the cohort collected 750 samples of sediment cores, ice cores, algae, krill, seafloor biota (e.g., tubeworms and sponges), and wildlife swabs, blood and tissue samples, and fecal matter. Their observations will deepen understanding of this ecosystem while informing conservation efforts essential to maintaining planetary health and ensuring a planet in balance. RV Falkor Too is an incredibly capable vessel with world-leading ROV technology and a phenomenal crew. The voyage required a lot of small vessel operation, ice landings, and working ashore in close proximity to wildlife, EYOS Expedition Leader Simon Ager along with Ice Pilot Fred Göthberg were aboard, a dual role of facilitating the research activity and upskilling the Falkor Too crew for small vessel operations in polar environments.
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Looking ahead, how do you see EYOS’ role evolving in supporting future scientific research in Antarctica, and are there any exciting projects on the horizon that you’re particularly eager to facilitate?
EYOS is well placed to assist in project management and logistical operation of research projects to the most remote (and challenging) regions of our planet. Building on our 1500 successful expeditions (850 of them in Antarctica, our value is in our people; we live and breathe these remote environments. For the researchers who may be on their first season in the ice or who have been confined to restricted waters around one of the bases, having a multi-skilled experienced team to guide the operation is essential. As funding for national programs continues to decrease so does the capability to reach out beyond the confines of the polar bases and deliver complex field work in remote locations. This is our bread and butter, from full ocean depth research to helicopter movement of gear and personnel around the continent. It’s what we do, every season, every year. There is just no substitute for experience and current competency in the skill set.