Award: OCE-1635219

The deep sea does more for us than we realize. Food, energy, drug discovery, and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, nutrient supply, and biodiversity. Natural methane seeps are a key part of the deep sea and are found lining the edges of the continents worldwide. This project focused on exploring geochemically active sites on the Costa Rica Margin, where high concentrations of methane bubble from beneath the seafloor into oxygen-poor, pitch black waters. To characterize how methane seep communities interact with the surrounding ecosystems and vice versa, the research team studied the sphere of influence around methane seeps off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We found new areas where warm waters come out of the seafloor and are colonized by species from the nearby seeps but also from species found at hydrothermal vents and the general background deep-sea habitats. We also found that the methane seeping out of the seafloor affects not just these animals, but the large area around the seeps – over 1 km away. We discovered new types of worms that have bacterial symbionts that use methane, and deep-sea corals that are eating food that comes from seep methane. In this project, we worked closely with scientists from Costa Rica to explore new parts of their waters, including seamounts (underwater mountains) that have special coral communities. We helped these scientists communicate the findings to their government with the hopes of establishing new protected areas in Costa Rica waters. We also worked with artists and film-makers to present the deep ocean and our science to the general public through exhibits of their paintings, independent films, and BBC Blue Planet specials. Through all of these efforts, we hope that our NSF-supported science can have the greatest possible impact. Last Modified: 01/12/2021 Submitted by: Erik Cordes