Autun Purser

Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research | AWI · Deep Seas Group

Evidence of hydrothermal venting on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean has been available since 2001, with first visual evidence of black smokers on the Aurora Vent Field obtained in 2014. But it was not until 2021 that the first ever remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives to hydrothermal vents under permanent ice cove...

Marine imagery is a comparatively cost-effective way to collect data on seafloor organisms, biodiversity and habitat morphology. However, annotating these images to extract detailed biological information is time-consuming and expensive, and reference libraries of consistently annotated seafloor images are rarely publicly available. Here, we presen...

Seamounts are isolated underwater mountains stretching > 1000 m above the seafloor. They are identified as biodiversity hotspots of marine life, and host benthic assemblages that may vary on regional (among seamounts) and local (within seamounts) scales. Here, we collected seafloor imagery of three seamounts at the Langseth Ridge in the central Arc...

When pelagic organisms die and fall onto the deep-sea floor they create food falls, i.e., parcels of organic enrichment that subsidize deep benthic scavenging communities. The diversity and quantities of food falls remain unstudied for many ocean regions since they are stochastically deposited and rapidly scavenged. The Southern Ocean habitat suppo...

The Aurora hydrothermal system, Arctic Ocean, hosts active submarine venting within an extensive field of relict mineral deposits. Here we show the site is associated with a neovolcanic mound located within the Gakkel Ridge rift-valley floor, but deep-tow camera and sidescan surveys reveal the site to be ≥100 m across—unusually large for a volcanic...

Marine litter can be found along coasts, continental shelves and slopes, down into the abyss. The absence of light, low temperatures and low energy regimes characterising the deeper habitats ensure the persistence of litter over time. Therefore, manmade items within the deep sea will likely accumulate to increasing quantities. Here we report the l...

The Southern Ocean is a challenging study site due to its remoteness and climate. Octopods have an important trophic role as both predator and prey in this extreme habitat and belong to the diverse, endemic megafauna of the benthic communities found in Antarctica. Yet, major parts of their lifestyle, diversity and distribution are unknown for most...

Scientific, industrial and societal needs call urgently for the development and establishment of intelligent, cost-effective and ecologically sustainable monitoring protocols and robotic platforms for the continuous exploration of marine ecosystems. Internet Operated Vehicles (IOVs) such as crawlers, provide a versatile alternative to conventional...

Between 3 February and 30 March 2021 the research icebreaker RV Polarstern conducted an extensive multidisciplinary research expedition across the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. During the Continental Shelf Multidisciplinary Flux Study (COSMUS) expedition (designated research expedition PS124), the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (...

Underwater images are used to explore and monitor ocean habitats, generating huge datasets with unusual data characteristics that preclude traditional data management strategies. Due to the lack of universally adopted data standards, image data collected from the marine environment are increasing in heterogeneity, preventing objective comparison. T...

Seamounts are isolated underwater mountains often stretching >1,000 m above the seafloor. They are usually identified as biodiversity hotspots of marine life, and host benthos assemblages that may vary on regional (among seamounts) and local (within seamounts) scales. Here, we collected seafloor imagery of three seamounts at the Langseth Ridge in t...

The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is a region that is key to a range of climatic and oceanographic processes with worldwide effects, and is characterised by high biological productivity and biodiversity. Since 2013, the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) has represented the most comprehensive compilation of bathym...

Between 3rd February and 30th March 2021 the research icebreaker RV Polarstern conducted an extensive multidisciplinary research expedition across the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. During the Continental Shelf Multidisciplinary Flux Study (COSMUS) expedition (designated research expedition PS124) the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry Syste...

Recent advances in robotic design, autonomy and sensor integration create solutions for the exploration of deep-sea environments, transferable to the oceans of icy moons. Marine platforms do not yet have the mission autonomy capacity of their space counterparts (e.g., the state of the art Mars Perseverance rover mission), although different levels...

The Central Arctic Ocean is one of the most oligotrophic oceans on Earth because of its sea-ice cover and short productive season. Nonetheless, across the peaks of extinct volcanic seamounts of the Langseth Ridge (87°N, 61°E), we observe a surprisingly dense benthic biomass. Bacteriosponges are the most abundant fauna within this community, with a...

Calcifying plankton in the upper ocean produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3) shells that sink to the seafloor after death resulting in the vertical transport of inorganic carbon in shells and organic carbon in carcasses. In situ observations of pelagic detritus on the abyssal plain are very scarce. Carcasses are rapidly scavenged and shells may dissolv...

Increasing interest in the acquisition of biotic and abiotic resources from within the deep sea (e.g. fisheries, oil-gas extraction, and mining) urgently imposes the development of novel monitoring technologies, beyond the traditional vessel-assisted, time-consuming, high-cost sampling surveys. The implementation of permanent networks of seabed and...

A breeding colony of notothenioid icefish (Neopagetopsis ionah, Nybelin 1947) of globally unprecedented extent has been discovered in the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The colony was estimated to cover at least ∼240 km² of the eastern flank of the Filchner Trough, comprised of fish nests at a density of 0.26 nests per square meter, representing...

The ocean moderates the world’s climate through absorption of heat and carbon, but how much carbon the ocean will continue to absorb remains unknown. The North Atlantic Ocean west (Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea) and east (Fram Strait/Greenland Sea) of Greenland features the most intense absorption of anthropogenic carbon globally; the biological carbon p...

Since the late 1980s, various experiments have been conducted in polymetallic nodule fields of the Pacific Ocean to assess the potential environmental impacts of future mining, specifically in two areas: the Peru Basin and the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ). Two expeditions, SO242/2 in 2015 (Peru Basin) and SO268/1 + 2 in 2019 (CCZ), deploy...

Octopods are dominant players of the benthic megafauna of the Weddell Sea over large depth ranges • Largest database of Southern Ocean Octopods in situ observations allows distribution, behavioural and diversity studies • The slopes of the Weddell Sea receive organic input by various types of food falls • Differences in octopod abundance and specie...

In 2016, the research ice-breaker Polarstern surveyed the submerged peaks of the permanently ice-covered Langseth Ridge, a tectonic feature comprising the Karasik seamount and two deeper seamount peaks, abutting the Gakkel ultra-slow spreading ridge (87°N 62°E to 85.5°N 57.4°E) ¹ • Boetius A. • Purser A. The expedition PS101 of the research vesse...

Research vessels equipped with fibre optic and copper-cored coaxial cables support the live onboard inspection of high-bandwidth marine data in real time. This allows for towed still-image and video sleds to be equipped with latest-generation higher-resolution digital camera systems and additional sensors. During RV Polarstern expedition PS118 in F...

The seafloor covers some 70% of the Earth's surface and has been recognized as a major sink for marine litter. Still, litter on the seafloor is the least investigated fraction of marine litter, which is not surprising as most of it lies in the deep sea, i.e. the least explored ecosystem. Although marine litter is considered a major threat for the o...

The Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS) is an underwater survey platform, which is designed and developed for research in the Polar Regions by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). The tailored deep tow system brought a new perspective and clarity from Arctic Ocean by its optical and acoustic sensors. During the PS101 expedition at...

Research vessels equipped with fibreoptic and copper cored coaxial cables support the live onboard inspection of high-bandwidth marine data in real-time. This allows towed still image and video sleds to be equipped with latest generation higher resolution digital camera systems and additional sensors. During RV Polarstern expedition PS118 in Februa...

Due to the predicted future demand for critical metals, abyssal plains covered with polymetallic nodules are currently being prospected for deep-seabed mining. Deep-seabed mining will lead to significant sediment disturbance over large spatial scales and for extended periods of time. The environmental impact of a small-scale sediment disturbance wa...

In marine research, image data sets from the same area but collected at different times allow seafloor fauna communities to be monitored over time. However, ongoing technological developments have led to the use of different imaging systems and deployment strategies. Thus, instances of the same class exhibit slightly shifted visual features in imag...

With the mining of polymetallic nodules from the deep-sea seafloor once more evoking commercial interest, decisions must be taken on how to most efficiently regulate and monitor physical and community disturbance in these remote ecosystems. Image-based approaches allow non-destructive assessment of the abundance of larger fauna to be derived from s...

Imaging underwater can be particularly problematic and expensive given the harsh environmental conditions posed by salinity and for some deployments, pressure. To counter these difficulties, expensive waterproof pressure resistant housings are often used, commonly built from expensive materials such as titanium, if intended for long duration deploy...

With the mining of polymetallic nodules from the deep sea seafloor again approaching commercial viability, decisions must be taken on how to most efficiently regulate and monitor physical and community disturbance in these remote ecosystems. Image based approaches allow non-destructive assessment of larger fauna abundances to be derived from survey...

Industrial interest in deep-sea mineral extraction began decades ago, and today it is at an all-time high, accelerated by global demand for metals. Several seafloor ecosystem disturbance experiments began in the 1970s, including the Disturbance and Recolonization experiment (DISCOL) conducted in the Peru Basin in 1989. A large seafloor disturbance...

Knowledge on basic biological functions of organisms is essential to understand not only the role they play in the ecosystems but also to manage and protect their populations. The study of biological processes, such as growth, reproduction and physiology, which can be approached in situ or by collecting specimens and rearing them in aquaria, is par...

Increasing interest in the acquisition of biotic and abiotic resources from within the deep sea (e.g. fisheries, oil-gas extraction, and mining) urgently imposes the development of novel monitoring technologies, beyond the traditional vessel-assisted, time-consuming, high-cost sampling surveys. The implementation of permanent networks of seabed and...

This comment presents acoustic and visual data showing deep seafloor depression chains similar to those reported in Marsh et al. (R. Soc. open sci. 5: 180286), though from a different deep-sea setting. Marsh et al. present data collected during cruise JC120 from polymetallic nodule rich sites within the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), at w...

Industrial interest in deep-sea mineral extraction began decades ago and today it is at an all-time high, accelerated by global demand for metals. Several seafloor ecosystem disturbance experiments were performed beginning in the 1970’s, including the DISturbance and reCOLonization experiment (DISCOL) conducted in the Peru Basin in 1989. A large se...

Mining impacts will affect local populations to different degrees. Impacts range from removal of habitats and possible energy sources to pollution and smaller-scale alterations in local habitats that, depending on the degree of disturbance, can lead to extinction of local communities. While there is a shortage or even lack of studies investigating...

Plastic contamination is now recognized as one of the most serious environmental issues for oceans. Both macro- and microplastic debris are accumulating in surface and deep waters. However, little is known about their impact on deep marine ecosystems and especially on the deep-sea reefs built by emblematic cold-water corals. The aim of this study w...

Hydrodynamic behaviour and the transport pathways of microplastics within the ocean environment are not well known, rendering accurate predictive models for dispersal management of such pollutants difficult to establish. In the natural environment, aggregation between plastic microbeads and phytodetritus or suspended sediments in rivers and oceans...

Abstract Identification of benthic megafauna is commonly based on analysis of physical samples or imagery acquired by cameras mounted on underwater platforms. Physical collection of samples is difficult, particularly from the deep sea, and identification of taxonomic morphotypes from imagery depends on resolution and investigator experience. Here,...

Mining polymetallic nodules on abyssal plains will have adverse impacts on deep-sea ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether the impacted ecosystem will recover, and if so at what rate. In 1989 the "DISturbance and reCOLonization" (DISCOL) experiment was conducted in the Peru Basin where the seafloor was disturbed with a plough harrow construc...

Future deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules in abyssal plains will negatively impact the benthic ecosystem, but it is largely unclear whether this ecosystem will be able to recover from mining disturbance and if so, to what extent and at what timescale. During the DISturbance and reCOLonization (DISCOL) experiment, a total of 22 % of the seaflo...

Hyperspectral seafloor surveys using airborne or spaceborne sensors are generally limited to shallow coastal areas, due to the requirement for target illumination by sunlight. Deeper marine environments devoid of sunlight cannot be imaged by conventional hyperspectral imagers. Instead, a close-range, sunlight-independent hyperspectral survey approa...

This discussion paper is a preprint. It is a manuscript under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG) Stratmann, T., Lins, L., Purser, A., Marcon, Y., Rodrigues, C. F., Ravara, A., Cunha, M. R., Simon-Lledó, E., Jones, D. O. B., Sweetman, A. K., Köser, K., and van Oevelen, D.: Faunal carbon flows in the abyssal plain food web of the Peru Basin h...

Towed camera systems are commonly used to collect photo and video images of the deep seafloor for a wide variety of purposes, from pure exploratory research to the development of management plans. Ongoing technological developments are increasing the quantity and quality of data collected from the deep seafloor. Despite these improvements, the area...

The oceanic biological pump is responsible for the important transfer of CO 2-C as POC " Particulate Organic Carbon " to the deep sea. It plays a decisive role in the Earth's carbon cycle and significant effort is spent to quantify its strength. In this study we used synchronized daily time-series data of surface chlorophyll-a concentrations from t...

Cold-water coral ecosystems differ from each other greatly in structure, faunal makeup, and ecological function. Attributes such as substrate type, 3-D complexity, biological community, and nutrient supply also change over small temporal and spatial scales. In this chapter, we present an overview of food gathering strategies employed by a range of...

In 2014 and 2016, RV Polarstern expeditions examined two hydrothermally active areas on the Arctic Gakkel Ridge that had been located during the AMORE Expedition in 2001. We report on results of ship-based bathymetry as well as deep-tow visual and sonar survey data collected with the new Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS). The Au...

Marine optical imaging has become a major assessment tool in science, policy and public understanding of our seas and oceans. Methodology in this field is developing rapidly, including hardware, software and the ways of their application. The aim of the Marine Imaging Workshop (MIW) is to bring together academics, research scientists and engineers,...

Knowledge of the processes shaping deep-sea benthic communities at seasonal scales in cold-seep environments is incomplete. Cold seeps within highly dynamic regions, such as submarine canyons, where variable current regimes may occur, are particularly understudied. Novel Internet Operated Vehicles (IOVs), such as tracked crawlers, provide new techn...

Visual counts of studied megafaunal species together with concomitant environmental data averaged at 4 h frequency. (XLSX)