In July 2024 the Ocean Census joined the Schmidt Ocean Institute on its ‘High Seas and Seamounts of the Nazca Ridge’ expedition. Scientists from the Ocean Census Science Network collaborated with the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) team to identify 20 potentially new marine species sampled from the expedition.
This expedition focused on an underwater mountain range located 900 miles off the coast of Chile and was the third expedition this year to explore the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges for SOI. Earlier SOI expeditions in January and February 2024 revealed over 150 species previously unknown to science, along with many instances of fauna being observed in new areas. The new species will be registered to the Ocean Census, aiding with the discovery and documentation of new marine life.
The Chile workshop was hosted by Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) and aimed 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. Take a look below at our brilliant team of participant scientists who delved into the samples taken from these exciting expeditions:
