That’s a Wrap! A timeline of Achievements at the Ocean Census in 2024

The Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University, Massachusett, USA, contributed a new species to the Ocean Census. The mussel, named Vadumodiolus teredinocola, represents both a new genus and species of bathymodiolin mussel.

Find out more about Vadumodiolus teredinocola.

Alongside NIWA and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Ocean Census-Bounty Trough research cruise investigated one of the most remote areas on earth.

Find out more about the start of the New Zealand expedition.

The team of scientists from NIWA and Te Papa in New Zealand collaborated with experts from the UK and Australia to collect almost 1,800 samples from as deep as 4,800 metres underwater and have discovered around 100 new and potentially new ocean species.

Find out more about the potential new species.

The UN Ocean Decade aims to strengthen momentum for ocean knowledge-based solutions, identifying gaps in scientific information and opportunities to enhance our collective impact.

Find out more what this means for the Ocean Census.

The Ocean Census Philippine Sea expedition, led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), aimed to explore the Kyushu-Palau Ridge and Minami-Daito Jima Island areas in the north western Pacific as part of the wider JAMSTEC Ocean Shot Expedition.

Find out more about the experiences of our participant scientists.

The Ocean Census Arctic Deep Expedition documented extraordinary biodiversity living thousands of metres below the Arctic surface, in a region now threatened by ocean warming.

Find out more about these interesting Arctic sea creatures.

During the Nazca High Seas expedition, scientists from the Ocean Census Science Network collaborated with Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) to identify 20 likely new marine species.

Find out more about the likely new species.

The Ocean Census Taxonomy and Science Event Awards 2024 recognise and support outstanding researchers who are advancing marine taxonomy and accelerating the discovery of new species. In total, 21 scientists received the awards in 2024.

Find out more the recipients of the Ocean Census awards 2024.

Joining our Ocean Census expedition team in Tenerife, Steve, alongside submarine pilot Scott Waters and Ocean Census scientist Alfredo Rosales, ventured down to an impressive depth of 238 metres in the state-of-the-art Pisces VI submarine. During this dive, they collected invaluable samples and recorded videos, contributing to our growing understanding of deep-sea biodiversity.

Find out more our time with Steve Backshall during the Tenerife expedition.

To accelerate the identification of the specimens collected during the Arctic Deep expedition, the University of Tromsø hosted the Arctic Deep species discovery workshop to conduct detailed taxonomic work on the expedition collection.

Find out more about the participant scientists at the workshop.

The Ocean Census Science Network grew to an incredible 700 members. This includes scientists, taxonomists and researchers from 63 countries and 384 institutions all working together to accelerate species discovery.

Find out more about how to join the science network.

The Chile workshop was hosted by the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) to accelerate species discovery from the material collected as part of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridge expeditions. Five taxonomists from the Ocean Census Science Network participated in the species discovery workshop.

Find out more about the participant scientists at the workshop.