MapGES 2024 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter

AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 PHYSETER CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER MAPGES 2024 PHYSETER CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIAS DO MAR - OKEANOS, UNIVERSIDADE DOS AÇORES, HORTA, PORTUGAL AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 PHYSETER CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER Authors: Telmo Morato, Gerald H. Taranto, João Balsa, Inês Bruno, Inês Carneiro, Marina Navarro Engesser, Laurence Fauconnet, Sérgio Gomes, Marisa Gomes, Guilherme Gonçalves, Rachel Lacoste, Luís Rodrigues, Marc P. Vilavendrell, Marina Carreiro-Silva, Carlos Dominguez-Carrió Azores Deep-Sea Research Group, Institute of Marine Sciences - Okeanos, University of The Azores, Portugal Date: 31 October 2024 Reference: Morato, T., G.H. Taranto, J. Balsa, I. Bruno, I. Carneiro, M.N. Engesser, L. Fauconnet, S. Gomes, M. Gomes, G. Gonçalves, R. Lacoste, M.P. Vilavendrell, L. Rodrigues, M. Carreiro-Silva, C. Dominguez-Carrió (2024). MapGES 2024 Cruise Report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter. Azores Deep-Sea Research Group, Institute of Marine Sciences - Okeanos, University of The Azores, Portugal. 107pp. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.14181251 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 PHYSETER CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER 1 SUMMARY OF THE MAPGES 2024 CRUISE ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER .............................. 1 1.1 Main objectives...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Statistics ................................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Cruise summary ..................................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Main achievements ................................................................................................................ 5 1.6 Stations surveyed during MapGES 2024 cruise onboard the MT Physeter ................................... 7 2 MAPGES 2024 LEG 1 - EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON BOARD THE MT PHYSETER, SÃO MIGUEL SLOPES AND MAR DA PRATA N ................................... 10 2.1 Summary of MapGES 2024 Leg 1 MT Physeter ....................................................................... 10 2.2 Highlights ............................................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Cruise diary of MT Physeter Leg 1 .......................................................................................... 12 3 MAPGES 2024 LEG 2 - EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON BOARD THE MT PHYSETER AROUND GRACIOSA AND PICO ISLAND SLOPES AND CLOSE-BY SEAMOUNTS .............................................................................................................................. 35 3.1 Summary of MT Physeter Leg 2 ............................................................................................. 35 3.2 Highlights ............................................................................................................................ 35 3.3 Cruise diary of MT Physeter Leg 2 .......................................................................................... 38 4 MAPGES 2024 LEG 3 - EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON BOARD THE MT PHYSETER AROUND FLORES AND CORVO ISLAND ............................................. 56 4.1 Summary of MT Physeter Leg 3 ............................................................................................. 56 4.2 Highlights ............................................................................................................................ 56 4.3 Cruise diary of MT Physeter Leg 3 .......................................................................................... 58 5 MAPGES 2024 LEG 4 - EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON BOARD THE MT PHYSETER AROUND TERCEIRA ISLAND............................................................. 74 5.1 Summary of MT Physeter Leg 4 ............................................................................................. 74 5.2 Highlights: ........................................................................................................................... 74 5.3 Cruise diary of MT Physeter Leg 4 .......................................................................................... 76 6 “LIFE” ON BOARD MT PHYSETER DURING MAPGES 2024 .................................................... 88 6.1 “Life” on board MT Physeter during MapGES 2024 Leg1 ......................................................... 88 6.2 “Life” on board MT Physeter during MapGES 2024 Leg2 ......................................................... 92 6.3 “Life” on board MT Physeter during MapGES 2024 Leg3 ......................................................... 99 6.4 “Life” on board MT Physeter during MapGES 2024 Leg4 ........................................................102 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................106 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 1 1 1 SUMMARY OF THE MAPGES 2024 CRUISE ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER MAPGES 2024 PHYSETER CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER Authors: Telmo Morato, Gerald H. Taranto, João Balsa, Inês Bruno, Inês Carneiro, Marina Navarro Engesser, Laurence Fauconnet, Sérgio Gomes, Marisa Gomes, Guilherme Gonçalves, Rachel Lacoste, Luís Rodrigues, Marc P. Vilavendrell, Marina Carreiro-Silva, Carlos Dominguez-Carrió Azores Deep-Sea Research Group, Institute of Marine Sciences - Okeanos, University of The Azores, Portugal Date: 31 October 2024 1.1 MAIN OBJECTIVES MapGES 2024 continues our longstanding commitment to map deep-sea biodiversity and identifying Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) in the Azores with the Azor drift-cam imagery system. Our 2024 expedition aimed to enhance the data collected in previous surveys by conducting new video transects along the slopes of several islands in the archipelago, including São Miguel and the northern Mar da Prata, Graciosa, Ponta da Ilha N in the Southeast of Pico Island, as well as Flores, Corvo, and Terceira Islands. This fieldwork focused on under-sampled areas and deeper strata. Additionally, we planned to explore two new areas, specifically Ilha Azul W and Raio Seamount. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the deep-sea fauna dwelling on the slopes, banks, and seamounts in these areas. Like previous MapGES cruises, our objectives included: (i) mapping benthic communities in previously unexplored seamounts, ridges, and island slopes; (ii) identifying new areas that meet the FAO definition of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems; and (iii) determining the distribution patterns of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores. The results of this cruise added to the previous contributions to identify the environmental drivers that determine the spatial distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores. It also provides valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. 1.2 METHODOLOGY We conducted several underwater video transects along the seafloor using the Azor drift-cam, a cost-effective drifting camera system developed by IMAR and Okeanos at the University of the Azores. This system is capable of recording high-quality underwater video images of the seabed down to 1000 m depth, and it was deployed from the MT Physeter. In each sampling area, we performed a representative number of dives using the video system, ranging from approximately 1000 meters to the shallowest point of each structure. The objective was to capture underwater images that would effectively characterize the biodiversity across the entire bathymetric gradient and various substrate types. The video transects were strategically planned based on the most accurate bathymetric data available, allowing the camera system to drift from deeper to shallower regions. This methodology was designed to ensure optimal image quality by maximizing light incidence and minimizing attenuation in the water column, a challenge typically encountered during descending transects. Each transect with the Azor drift-cam was planned for approximately 60 minutes on the seafloor, with the system drifting over benthic habitats at an average speed of 0.5 to 1 knot. Under favourable conditions, each working day facilitated 5 to 6 dives, corresponding to approximately 5 kilometres of seafloor explored daily. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 2 2 Vessel MT Physeter Dates Leg 1: 30th June to 17th July Leg 2: 21st July to 1st August Leg 3: 9th to 22nd August Leg 4: 26th August to 07th September Scientific team Leg 1: Gerald H. Taranto (chief scientist), João Balsa, Inês Bruno, Inês Carneiro, Marina Navarro Essenger Leg 2: Telmo Morato (chief scientist), Guilherme Gonçalves, Sérgio Gomes, Rachel Lacoste, Marc Pladevall Vilavendrell, João Balsa (last 2 days) Leg 3: Telmo Morato (chief scientist), Inês Bruno, Laurence Fauconet, Rachel Lacoste, Luís Rodrigues, Gerald Taranto, Marc Pladevall Vilavendrell Leg 4: Carlos Dominguez-Carrió (chief scientist), João Balsa, Inês Bruno, Inês Carneiro, Marisa Gomes, Marc Pladevall Vilavendrell 1.3 STATISTICS Altogether, we performed 153 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1130 m depth, covering 80 km of the seafloor and producing more than 155 hours of video footage of the seabed. Leg 1: We performed 40 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1110 m depth, covering 22 km of seafloor and producing 42 hours of video footage, 2.73TB of disc space. Leg 2: We performed 48 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1030 m depth, covering 20 km of seafloor and producing 44 hours of video footage, 2.40 TB of disc space. Leg 3: We performed 43 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1050 m depth, covering 21 km of seafloor and producing 46 hours of video footage, 2.3TB of disc space. Leg 4: We performed 22 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1000 m depth, covering 15.5 km of seafloor and producing 22 hours of video footage, 1.16TB of disc space. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 3 3 Figure 1. Scientific teams that participated in the different legs of the MapGES 2024 Cruises on the MT Physeter. 1.4 CRUISE SUMMARY The MapGES 2024 cruise aboard MT Physeter consisted of 4 legs aimed at exploring and revisiting slopes, banks, ridges, and seamounts surrounding São Miguel, Graciosa, Pico, Flores, Corvo, and Terceira Islands. A total of 150 successful dives were conducted out of 153 planned, covering 28 sampling areas. During Leg 1, from 30th June to 17th July 2024, we performed 40 successful dives with the Azor drift-cam. This first Leg surveyed the deep-sea benthic communities dwelling on the slopes of the geomorphological structures around São Miguel Island and the north part of the Mar da Prata seamount. This was a challenging leg due to the bad weather conditions throughout the mission. During the Leg 2, from 21st July to 1st August 2024, we performed 48 successful dives with the Azor drift-cam. around Graciosa Island slopes and some adjacent geomorphological structures such as Ilha Azul and Mar da Fortuna. We also revisited the south of Pico Island namely the northernmost part of a seamount chain area called Ponta da Ilha. The explorations of the Ponta da Ilha N was unexpectedly challenging due to its geomorphology, being even more difficult when operating with a small vessel such as MT Physeter. During Leg 3, from 9th to 22sd August 2024, we performed 43 dives in the island slopes around Flores and Corvo. During Leg 4, from 26th August to 7th September we performed a total of 22 dives with the Azor drift-cam, a little less than the usual number because of the constant bad sea conditions. Nevertheless, we were able to revisit the Terceira Island slopes and the adjacent banks and seamounts. During this year’s survey we observed diverse benthic and fish communities, from which we may highlight a robust aggregation of shallow cf. Candidella imbricata around São Miguel Island, an extraordinary field of the bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri in Ponta da Ilha N, the rare observation of a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) with the Azor drift-cam around Flores Island, and the spot of the Hexactinellida sponge Hertwigia falcifera, during one of the dives exploring deeper sectors in Terceira Island. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 4 4 Table 1. Areas surveyed during each of the legs of MapGES 2024 cruise on-board the MT Physeter, with information on number of dives, total distance of seafloor covered, and number of hours recording video footage on the seafloor. Leg Dates Areas explored Dives (n) Dist. (m) Bottom time (hh:mm) 1 30/06/2024 - 17/07/2024 São Miguel Island slopes, banks and seamounts: São Miguel N, NW, NE, S, W and Mar da Prata N 40 22.3 41:47 2 20/07/2024 - 01/08/2024 Graciosa and Pico Island slopes and banks: Graciosa NW, SW, SE, Ilha Azul, Ilha Azul W, Mar da Fortuna, Raio, Pico S and Ponta da Ilha N 48 20.5 44:26 3 09/08/2024 - 23/08/2024 Flores and Corvo Island slopes and banks: Flores E, S, W, NW, and Corvo SE, NE, NW 43 21.5 46:33 4 26/08/2024 - 07/09/2024 Tereira Island slopes and banks: Terceira S, W Serreta, N, E, SW Angra and Gastromar 22 15,7 22:30 Total 153 80,0 155:17 Figure 22. Location of the 153 video stations carried out with the Azor drift-cam during the MapGES 2024 cruise on-board the MT Physeter. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 5 5 Figure 3. Some highlights of the footage recorded during the Legs 1 to 4 of MapGES 2024 on board the MT Physeter. (a) A rare glimpse of the swordfish (Xiphias gladius) during a decent of the Azor drift-cam; (b) Large colony of the black coral Leiopathes expansa attached to a big basaltic wall; (c) Spot of a robust colony of the black coral Leiopathes glaberrima; (d) Record of an interesting interaction between an unidentified octopod and the sponge Haliclona magna; (e) Rare sighting of the lobster Palinurus elephas; (f) Coral garden constituted by the species Acanthogorgia spp., Dentomuricea aff. meteor, Viminella flagellum (yellow morph) and Paracalyptrophora josephinae; (g) Big colonies of shallow morphospecies likely of the species cf. Candidella imbricata; (h) Diverse coral garden composed by different species such as the primnoid Narella versluysi, Acanthogorgia spp., Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus spp., Leptopsammia formosa and a colony of the black coral Leiopathes expansa with the presence of the decapod Sternostylus formosus; (i) Frame of the drift over a rare shark belonging to the species Odontaspis ferox. This species was recorded two times during the survey; (j) Vast aggregation of the “bird’s nest” sponge Pheronema carpenteri; (k) A basaltic outcrop with the presence of a large colony of the complex Paramuricea/Placogorgia; (l) A rare observation of the Hexactinellida sponge Hertwigia falcifera. 1.5 MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS 1. During the MapGES 2024 survey conducted aboard the MT Physeter, 153 stations were completed using the Azor drift-cam. The stations spanned depths ranging from 100 to 1130 m, encompassing a broad spectrum of marine strata. The survey covered approximately 80km of the seafloor and generated more than 150 hours of video footage for analysis. These numbers represent a big achievement considering that (i) we successfully operated, once again, the Azor drift-cam for deep-sea exploration on board a small vessel and (ii) a great part of the days at the sea were characterized by an extremely challenging weather, especially during Leg 1 and 4 around São Miguel and Terceira Islands. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 6 6 2. This year’s survey included a diverse set of locations, involving Ilha Azul, Raio seamount, and the northern extension of the Ponta da Ilha volcano chain. This volcanic structure, extending nearly 40 nautical miles from the eastern tip of Pico Island, is still just slightly explored due to the time and vessel limitations and definitely deserves a more in-depth exploration. Due to its particular geomorphology, which is made up of a chain of many narrow seamounts, deploying the Azor drift-cam and passing over the top of the seamounts was a very difficult task, as most of the time the structure only passed along one flank of the hill. 3. For the second consecutive year of the MapGES survey on-board the MT Physeter, no entire Azor drift-cam structures were irretrievably lost despite entanglements with discarded fishing lines or contact with big basaltic outcrops. The successful retrieval of all deployed gear, with only minor damage during all the campaign, underscores the team’s preparedness and their effective response to challenging situations. 4. The MapGES 2024 survey was substantially focused on investigating deeper strata in areas already visited during the previous campaigns. Exploration of these deeper zones provided a more comprehensive understanding of deep-sea biodiversity, so that we can manage to fill some knowledge gaps about the benthic communities present in some of the areas. 5. Several rare or less frequently encountered species were observed using the Azor drift-cam, notably including swordfish (Xiphias gladius), the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas), the smalltooth sand tiger shark (Odontaspis ferox), and a species of sponge tentatively identified as cf. Hertwigia falcifera. We also had the opportunity to record two different species belonging to the genus Halosaurus, being this fact notable because it was only recorded for the first time with the Azor drift-cam during MapGES 2023 survey. 6. Although no particularly large or spectacular coral communities were detected, several diverse coral gardens were identified, particularly around Terceira Island. These included notable gorgonian species such as Dentomuricea aff. meteor, Acanthogorgia spp., Viminella flagellum, and Paracalyptrophora josephinae. Outstanding coral gardens dominated by the octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor had been reported during the MapGES 2023 survey around Terceira Island, and this year, revisiting nearby areas, it wasn’t possible to observe exemplars as a large as last year, probably mainly due to explorations at deeper sectors. 7. During this year campaign, when in São Miguel, we were able to witness what it could be one of the most extensive and with the largest individuals of the gorgonian Candidella cf. imbricata ever recorded with the Azor drift-cam. These aggregations were sighted on Mar da Prata N, and the observation is particularly relevant because of the apparently good coral status and because this area is strongly known for the concentration of significant part of the bottom fishing effort in the Azores region. 8. We detected an extraordinary aggregation of the “bird’s nest” sponge Pheronema carpenteri in Ponta da Ilha N (Southeast of Pico Island). There is a high chance that this is one of the densest and largest fields mainly composed by this sponge, that we have recorded with the Azor-drift cam, growing on a large flat area characterized by soft and unconsolidated substrate. This reinforces the idea that this is most certainly the sponge species we encounter most frequently and in higher densities, across a relatively large depth range. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 13 13 30 June 2024 The MT Physeter and its crew—Edgar Lima, Afonso Sousa, and Norberto Serpa—departed Horta Harbour early in the morning (around 7:00) and arrived at Rabo de Peixe Harbour at approximately 18:00. The scientific crew flew to São Miguel Island later in the afternoon, arriving at 21:15. Once there, we took a taxi to Casa dos Foros in Ribeira Grande, our rented accommodation for the coming weeks. Upon arrival, we held a brief meeting to plan our work for the upcoming days and address some logistical issues. The plan we agreed upon for the next day was for some of us to take a taxi to Ponta Delgada to collect the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation’s van while the others did the grocery shopping. Meanwhile, the MT Physeter crew would have time to complete the refueling operations scheduled for the following morning. That evening, since it was Saint Peter’s regional party in Ribeira Grande, we took a short walk before going to bed. Figure 7. Scientific crew on the airplane heading to São Miguel Island. 01 July 2024 After a nice breakfast in the coffee shop “Merenda”, in Ribeira Grande, we separated in two teams: Gerald and João went to pick up the van from the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation by taxi at about 08:30, while Inês B., Inês C. and Marina went to the supermarket to sort out the meals for the next days. In the meantime, MT Physeter was refuelling in Rabo de Peixe. We met up with the MT Physeter crew around 11:00, had a small briefing and started to re-assemble all the equipment after the transit from Faial to São Miguel. Despite the rough sea caused by strong wind gusts, we decided to give it a try and visit some nearshore areas out of Rabo de Peixe. All five members of the scientific team went on board, so that everybody could get used to all the steps required to operate the Azor drift-cam. We left Rabo de Peixe harbour at 12:56 heading to São Miguel N area. We performed a total of 2 dives (St001 and St002) between 280m and 550 m depth. Both dives were very successful for a first day, with acceptable drifts and navigations despite the strong currents, with no trouble to report apart from the GoPro running out of battery during both dives, after approximately 1h of recording. The first dive was characterized by basaltic outcrops covered with soft sediments where the abundance of benthic fauna was very low. The highlights were some small and encrusting sponges, some sparse Viminella flagellum aggregations, small Acanthogorgia spp. and a shoal of Alfonsino (Beryx splendens). On the second dive, the first hour filmed by the GoPro was mainly characterized by a soft bottom with almost no fauna. However, on the last part of the dive, filmed only by the GitUp camera, we recorded large aggregations of Viminella flagellum together with large colonies of the coral AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 14 14 species Callogorgia verticillata, Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Acanthogorgia spp. There was also a small but impressive aggregation of the black coral Anthipatella subpinata. Large sponges like Leiodermatium from the blue morphotype, cf. Phakellia ventilabrum and Pseudotrachya hystrix were also frequently observed, as well as shoals of Anthias anthias. Lastly, we recorded an impressive amount of a brown Holothuria, that had been already observed in previous campaigns. After finishing the second dive around 17:40, we started heading back to Rabo the Peixe harbour. We left the vessel and went straight home to leave some of our equipment and before going to look for a place to watch Portugal VS Slovenia match of the Euro 2024. In the end, we found a place in the Mercado of Ribeira Grande and had dinner at the restaurant Pacheco. Luckily, Portugal won. Figure 8. Location of São Miguel N and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 1st July 2024. Figure 9. Screenshots from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel N, 1st July 2024. 02 July 2024 We left the house around 08:00 and arrived at Rabo de Peixe harbour around 08:30. The sea conditions were still a bit rough with choppy waters and relatively strong winds, although, along the day, the wind gradually subsided. We left the harbour at 08:52 and headed to São Miguel N area again, this time performing a total of 4 dives (St003 – St006) between 634m and 880m depth. After positioning the vessel for the first dive, we saw AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 15 15 that the drift was not suitable for our initial plan, so we had to lose some time to adjust the plan and reposition the vessel. During the first dive of the day, the electric cable got entangled in the winch, slightly scratching the outside of the cable. We managed to continue the dive without any consequence. Overall, it was a successful working day. All deep dives were successfully completed and, with the information collected in 2023 during shallower dives, we are having a more comprehensive understanding of the fauna dwelling in São Miguel N. The seabed was mainly characterized by the presence of hard substrate with patches of soft sediments, apart from the last dive where the rocky outcrops were not so common. On the deepest portion of our dives the fauna was predominantly composed by the Xenophyophores (Syringammina fragilissima) and the sea urchins of the family Echinoturiidae. At those areas, it was possible to observe extensive aggregations of the primnoid coral Narella versluysi and N. bellissima normally together with several Acanthogorgia spp., Leptopsammia formosa, and Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus spp. We also drifted above hydrozoans such as Pliobothrus symmetricus and Lytocarpia myriophyllum. The bird nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri was also spotted in small aggregations on deep areas. Up the slope, the abundance of fauna increased. There, we observed more sponge species such as Macandrewia azorica, Haliclona magna, the glass sponge Farrea occa and Regadrella phoenix, Poecillastra compressa and large Stryphnus. The gorgonian Acanthogorgia spp., became more common as we moved upslope with small colonies of the black coral Leiopathes expansa and Stichopathes gavieri, small colonies of the octocoral Paragorgia johnsoni and the gorgonian Chelidonisis hirondelle, which is quite rare in de region. The motile fauna was quite common in all dives, the highlights being a shoal of Hoplostenus mediterraneus, some bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus and fishes of the genus Chaunax. Interestingly there was a high abundance of the crustacean Bathynectes maravigna. We headed back to Rabo de Peixe harbour at 18:09, were we arrived around 18:35. After a dinner at home to recharge the batteries (those of the drift cam and ours), we got a 7 kg freshly caught conger at Rabo de Peixe harbour, with which our skipper promised to cook a fish stew one of the next days. Figure 10. Location of São Miguel N and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 2nd July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 16 16 Figure 11. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel N, 2nd July 2024. 03 July 2024 Today we continued exploring the north slopes of São Miguel Island, taking advantage of the good sea conditions present. We headed to São Miguel northwest at around 09:00, a bit later due to a small issue with the engine of MT Physeter, promptly solved by our skipper Edgar. The sea was very steady in the morning with the wind increasing after lunch, which turned the dives and the work in the boat much more challenging. We were able to perform 4 dives (St007 – St010) between 284 and 1034 m depth. During the day we had some technical and material problems. After the first dive we noticed that some water leaked inside the cylinder of the concentric LED lights and we replaced it, leaving the repair to be done on land. We also put aside the battery that got contact with water, opting by not using it for the next dives. The third dive of the day was aborted, due to the suspicion of entanglement of our system. Luckily, we only lost the weight during this entanglement. In the same dive, the GoPro camera stopped recording in the middle of the dive for unknown reasons. The seabed of the deeper areas was characterized by hard substrate with some dead coral framework changing to more soft and sandy bottoms as the depth decreased: Benthic fauna was mostly concentrated in rocky outcrops. The deepest dives were characterized by the black corals Leiopathes expansa and Parantipathes hirondelle, the scleractinians Leptopsammia formosa and Lophelia pertusa, the gorgonians Candidella imbricata, Narella versluysi, Chrysosorgia sp., and both morphotypes of the bubble gum coral Paragorgia johnsoni. We also observe hydrocorals, namely Pliobothrus symmetricus and some stylasterids. The sponges found were mainly desmosponges of the species Characella pachastrelloides, Desmacella grimaldii, Poecillastra compressa, Haliclona magna and large exemplars from the genus Geodia and Stryphnus, and the hexactinellid Farrea occa, Regadrella phoenix, Aphrocallistes beatrix complex and the bird nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri. It was also visible some foraminifera from the species Syringammina fragillissima. Reaching shallower depths, we observed coral gardens of the gorgonians Viminella flagellum together with Dentomuricea aff. meteor, Acanthogorgia spp., occasional colonies of large Callogorgia verticillata, and the desmosponge Phakellia ventilabrum. Here, we also found rocky outcrops covered with the desmosponge Haliclona implexa together with small encrusting sponges. The motile fauna was composed by echinoderms like the sea urchins AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 17 17 Cidaris cidaris and Echinus melo, the octopus Pteroctopus tetracirrhus and a possible new occurrence for octopoda. We observed several fishes, such as the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the oreo fish Neocyttus helgae, the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus and, at shallower depth, a large shoal of Capros aper, and some crabs from the species Paramola cuvieri and Chaceon affinis. After a rough and exhausting afternoon, due to the sea conditions, we started navigating back to Rabo de Peixe harbour at around 18:00. Figure 12. Location of São Miguel NW and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 3rd July 2024. Figure 13. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel NW, 3rd July 2024. 04 July 2024 The MT Physeter had planned to refuel at 09:00. However, we had a surprise inspection by the maritime police that delayed our departure to our working area to 10:30. We continued working in the north part of the island, this time heading to São Miguel NE, trying to finish exploring this area. The sea conditions were calm, making it very pleasant to work onboard. We were able to perform 3 dives (St011 – St013) between 254 and 819 m deep. The drifts were overall good and very linear, with the only exception being the first dive when we were on tidal flats, which resulted in a very fickle and unpredictable drift, going in opposite directions with and without the structure in the water. During this dive, the electric cable got stuck on the winch and slightly broke, losing the AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 18 18 live view image for 2 seconds. We repaired the cable while continuing the dive, however since our intended drift was SE or SW, and the boat was tending to drift N, we decided to abort the dive and ascend a bit earlier. The two later dives had a very good drift, although with some technical problems. On the second dive the GoPro didn’t record because it was in photo mode, so we only recorded images with the GitUp camera. The third went as planned, but we noticed the GoPro had stopped recording earlier than it should. Since we figured these GoPro issues might have been caused by the SD card used during this dive, it was discarded. All the dives performed showed very low biodiversity with the deeper dives being mostly characterized by soft sediments with some occasional sedimentary outcrops. On these dives, we mainly observed foraminifera from the species Syringammina fragilissima, sea-urchins from the family Echinothuriidae and some ceriantharian. We also drifted past some eel-like fish and some flat fish, as well as one deep-sea shark from the genus Deania. Shallower depths were also characterized by sandy substrate with small shoals of Capros aper. Some rocky outcrops covered with soft sediments showed small patches of the whip coral Viminella flagellum together with some colonies of Acanthogorgia sp. After the last dive of the day, we headed back to Rabo de Peixe harbour, where we arrived around 18:54. Our team had a pleasant dinner prepared by our skipper Edgar. We also took the opportunity to make a small repairing on a live view system, welding a cable. Figure 14. Location of São Miguel NE and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 4th July 2024. Figure 15. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel NE, 4th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 19 19 05 July 2024 Leaving Rabo de Peixe harbour at 08:30, we set course once more for São Miguel NE area. Arriving at our first chosen point around 09:45. As the drift was nearly null, we decided to relocate to a spot where we could position the camera directly near the summit of the seamount. Today, we performed 4 dives (St014 – St017) between 409 and 882m depth. The first dive of the day was full of vertical walls, which made the navigation hard. As the dive progressed, the camera started moving to deeper areas and the walls could only be seen at the back of the camera. Consequently, we decided to surface earlier than planned. Before starting the third dive, we replaced the scratched front part of the GoPro waterproof case, restoring image clarity. The seabed predominantly featured basaltic outcropping rock and sand throughout the first two dives, with the third and fourth dive primarily consisting of sand, very occasionally intercalated with dead coral framework. The fauna encountered in the deepest sections explores was mostly composed of aggregations of the Xenophyophore Syringammina fragilissima and a few individuals of sea urchins of the family Echinothuriidae always attached on soft substrates. On rocky outcrops, we observed a bit more diversity with the presence of the glass sponge Farrea occa, among some Pliobothrus symmetricus, Pleurocorallium johnsoni and a couple of small black corals of the species Leiopathes expansa. In the shallower areas, we drifted over a small coral garden composed of large gorgonians of the species Viminella flagellum, Acanthogorgia spp., Callogorgia verticillata and just a few Dentomuricea aff. meteor. Motile fauna was commonly observed, with only sightings of some bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, a Mora moro, a shoal of Capros aper and some Anguiliforms at the deeper areas. Curiously, the second dive of the day was marked by the often presence of Ctenophores. We concluded our day at sea at 17:30, navigating back to Rabo de Peixe for about 1 hour. Arriving at 18:25, we made it just in time for the Euro 2024 Portugal-France match. Figure 16. Location of São Miguel NE and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 5th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 20 20 Figure 17. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel NE, 5th July 2024. 06 July 2024 We left Rabo de Peixe harbour at 08:15 and headed to São Miguel NW area. We performed 3 deep dives (St018 – St020) between 628 and 1108 m depth. The seabed varied across dives, showcasing a blend of coral rubble, rock outcrops, and sand during the first dive. The second and third dives presented a mix of hard and soft sediments, with the third dive additionally presenting coral rubble. After the second dive of the day, we noticed that some water got into the GoPro waterproof case due to a broken screw hole. Consequently, we opted to replace the lid of the waterproof case before the next dive. Also, on the last dive of the day, the electric cable got stuck on the winch while the camera was going up and needed to be repaired. Fortunately, this incident did not disrupt the live view image. Despite these small incidents, the day went very well. All the dives performed on this day were deep and so all the fauna observed was typical of the lower areas that we normally explore. Coral species identified included extensive aggregations of the primnoid Narella versluysi (normally accompanied by the sponge Pheronema carpenteri), bamboo corals of the species Acanella arbusculla and a similar gorgonian of the genus Chrysogorgia. Important as well to highlight the conspicuous presence of hydrozoans likely of the species Errina atlantica and large specimens of the black corals Bathypathes pseudoalternata, Leiopathes expansa, and Antipathes dichotoma. Regarding sponge communities we highlight the observation of a Polymastia corticata, Farrea occa, and large aggregations of Exsuperantia archipelagus. The oreofish (Neocyttus helgae) and buemouth rockfish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) were commonly sighted during all dives. When we finished the work, we headed to Ponta Delgada harbour, planning to refuel the boat on Sunday and shelter from the incoming bad weather. But as the weather was still good this day, we enjoyed a fresh drink at the marina and headed back home for a Saturday barbecue. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 21 21 Figure 18. Location of São Miguel NW and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 6th July 2024. Figure 19. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel NW, 6th July 2024. 07 July 2024 Departing from Ponta Delgada harbour, we headed towards Mar da Prata N area. Due to unforeseen delays during refuelling, we weren't ready until 10:00. We performed 3 shallow dives (St021 - St023) between 255 and 360 m depth. Our first dive encountered challenges as the Azor drift-cam got caught in some lost fishing lines twice in the water column. Fortunately, we managed to free ourselves both times and proceed with the dive as planned. While navigating the camera, we observed one of our buoys drifting away, but were unable to retrieve it. We replaced the lost buoy before starting the second dive. Throughout the dives, we encountered a strong tide opposing the wind direction, resulting in a slow drift even at shallow depths. As weather conditions worsened, it became increasingly difficult to navigate the drift-cam. To mitigate risks, we opted for shallower dives to maximize our chances of successful drifts. The first two dives showed either hard substrate covered with soft sediment or sand bottom with basaltic pebbles. On both we observed Viminella flagellum aggregations, together with Callogorgia verticillata and small colonies of Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Acanthogorgia spp. We also drifted over several sponge species, such as Pakellia ventilabrum, Characella pachastrelloides complex, Desmacella grimaldii, and aggregations of the AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 22 22 glass sponge Asconema fristedti. During the third dive, the drift-cam got caught again in a lost fishing line, causing us to lose two buoys. Despite this setback, we successfully freed the drift-cam and continued our descent. Eventually, we reached the top of the seamount and despite it showing similar fauna to the dives before, it was certainly the most impressive dive of the day, spotting vast coral gardens of Viminella flagellum with large Callogorgia verticillata. Sponges of the genus Leiodermatium were also present along the dive, both blue and white morphotypes. The highlight of the day was the high abundance of large cf. Candidella imbricata, observed not only on the vertical walls but also on the rocky substrate covered by soft sediments; also, one sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) appeared, which made our day. Lastly, we noticed one interesting ray Tetronarce nobiliana and some occasional Anthias anthias. The drift became faster as we moved northward, complicating our operations. By the end of the last dive, we managed to retrieve the camera with only one buoy and without its weight, concluding our day's operations under challenging conditions. After analysing the GoPro videos by the end of the day, we noticed the LED lights were appearing on the videos and realized the metallic structure of the Azor drift-cam narrowed probably due to the impact of getting stuck on the fishing lines. We arrived at Ponta Delgada harbour at about 18:15 and drove back home for a tuna dinner. Figure 20. Location of Mar da Prata N and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 7th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 29 29 Figure 29. Location of Mar da Prata N and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 13th July 2024. Figure 30. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in Mar da Prata N, 13th July 2024. 14 July 2024 We left the harbour around 08:50, heading to São Miguel West. Once again, the weather forecast seemed hard for our work, this time with high swells and weak wind, but we decided to try and go out which ended up being a wise decision. We had rough navigation for around 1 hour against the waves, however we spotted a group of dolphins jumping on the big waves, which cheered us up. We performed 5 dives (St030 – St034) between 230 m and 850 m. Although it was a successful day, we still experienced some technical issues. After the first dive of the day, we realised the GoPro stopped working at the very beginning of the dive, probably due to a malfunctioning SD card. We decided to discard this SD card and continued to the second dive using the same GoPro camera and a different SD card, which worked well. During the fourth dive of the day, the ArcGIS software crashed, and we had to start the log while going down on the water column. On this dive, we got stuck on a lost fishing line but managed to quickly release the camera. Since we already had 1:00 hour of bottom time we decided to come up and finish the dive. The sandy substrate on the shallower dives was mainly occupied by some fishes from the Macrouridae family, some flatfishes and one ray from the species Dipturus intermedius. On the basaltic rocks we drifted over some AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 30 30 aggregations of the gorgonians Viminella flagellum and Acanthogorgia spp. as well as some colonies of the sponges Characella pachastrelloides complex and aggregations of Phakellia ventillabrum. We spotted some shoals of Capros aper and one Conger conger. On the deeper areas, characterized by basaltic outcrops covered by soft sediments, the most common species were the “bird’s nest” sponge Pheronema carpenteri, with other species of glass sponges like Regadrella phoenix, Farrea occa and Aphrocallistes beatrix complex and massive sponges like the ones from the genus Geodia, Desmacella grimaldii and impressively big Haliclona cf. magna. At these depths we also found aggregations of small Paragorgia johnsoni of both red and white morphotypes, some Pleurocorallium johnsoni, Callogorgia verticillata and some extensive aggregations of both Narella versluysi and Narella bellissima. Finally, we also spotted a variety of fish species such as the bluemouth rockfish (Helicolenus dactylopterus), Alfonsino (Beryx splendens) and one Chaunax spp. We started going back to Ponta Delgada at 18:50 where we arrived around 20:00. We went straight home where Afonso and Edgar (the MT Physeter crew) prepared seafood rice and fried conger for dinner. Figure 31. Location of São Miguel W and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 14th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 31 31 Figure 32. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel W, 14th July 2024. 15 July 2024 Although the sea conditions were poor and the wind strong, we attempted to go out anyway and left Ponta Delgada harbour at 08:50. We performed one dive (St035) during this day in São Miguel South area, around 700m depth. During this dive, the wind remained strong, and the waves were big. Nevertheless, the dive went well with a strong drift, which allowed us to cover over 1000 m. The seabed was characterized by a mixture of soft and hard sediment. In general, this was a very poor dive in terms of biodiversity. In the deeper areas, mainly characterized by soft sediments, we only found some occasional Flabellum sp. Moving up to shallower areas, the substrate started to change to rock, and the diversity increased. In these depths it was possible to observe some big sponges such as Characella pachastrelloides complex, Poecillastra compressa, Phakellia ventillabrum and some colonies of the gorgonians Viminella flagellum. Most of the motile fauna was composed by the fish species Conger conger, Helicolenus dactylopterus and of the Macrouridae family. After this first dive, the conditions got worse, especially the swell, which made it hard to deploy and recover the drift cam. Thus, we headed back to Ponta Delgada where we arrived around 13:00, waiting for the conditions to improve. Since this wasn’t the case, we stayed onboard the Physeter at the harbour to fix the electric cable that broke on the 12th of July. We then got back to the house, had an early dinner of “empadão de atum” which allowed to have some time to rest. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 32 32 Figure 33. Location of São Miguel S and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 15th July 2024. Figure 34. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel S, 15th July 2024. 16 July 2024 We left Ponta Delgada harbour at 09:00 after a short briefing with the MT Physeter crew to plan the next few days considering the need for Physeter to be in Faial before the 18th of July. Although the sea conditions were not ideal for our work, we decided it was best to work the full day on the 16th of July, since Physeter was navigating back to Faial on the 17th. We performed 5 dives (St036 – St040) in São Miguel South area between 350 m and 910 m depth. The seabed explored was mainly composed by soft substrate sometimes mixed with patches of coral rubble. At most of the dives there was some point that basaltic outcrops were present. These hard structures hosted the greatest part of the fauna observed. The shallow dives performed found a clear lack of benthic fauna, with only the sighting of a few “whip corals” Viminella flagellum, and Callogorgia verticillata, and very punctual observations of the sponges Characellla pachastrelloides, Macandrewia azorica and some specimens of the genus Petrosia. At these shallower depths the highlight were shoals of Capros aper and some Helicolenus dactylopterus. It was in the deepest stations that we found more fauna both in terms of abundance and diversity. It was possible to drift over aggregations of the Xenophyophores Syringammina fragillissima and aggregations of the primnoid corals Narella versluysi and N. bellissima, often together with Callogorgia verticillata. It was also possible to identify a high number of gorgonians of the genus Acanthogorgia, and some AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 33 33 sponges of the species Pheronema carpenteri, Regadrella phoenix and Farrea occa. Motile fauna was also more common at these depths with sighting of a small Dalatias licha, several Helicolenus dactylopterus and a few crustaceans of the species Paromola cuvieri and Chaceon affinis. After the second dive of the day, we realized we lost a buoy, probably because the cable used to tie the buoy was too thin. After that, the sea conditions got worse with the current getting stronger and the waves bigger which happened to pull the Azor drift-cam far away from the vessel during the third dive. The fourth dive was aborted since the drift was going opposite direction to what we intended. Since we weren’t going to reach the top of the seamount, we came up earlier to try a fifth dive on the same point. On the fifth dive, the drift was still not ideal, so we had to readjust the boat various times, successfully reaching the top of the seamount after a few attempts. He headed back to Ponta Delgada harbour around 18:51, where we arrived at 19:40. We packed most of the equipment to prepare the boat to travel back to Faial the next day, had a quick shower at the marina, and went straight to Cais 20 restaurant to celebrate the end of Leg 1 with a seafood meal. Figure 35. Location of São Miguel S and the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam in this area, 16th July 2024. Figure 36. Screenshots extracted from the video footage recorded with the Azor drift-cam in São Miguel S, 16th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 34 34 17 July 2024 The last day of the first leg of 2024 on board the MT Physeter has arrived. The team woke up around 09:00 taking the breakfast calmly and took the opportunity to talk a little about how the mission went in general. After breakfast we spent the morning working on the report writing, data organization, taken frame grabs of the recorded videos and collecting all the photos from each team member. We had some leftovers for lunch, packed our things and left the house around 15:00 in the afternoon. Our first stop was to meet Crisálida from FGF, not only to thank her for the amazing support during our stay in São Miguel, but also because she needed a document from our team member João. After this we headed to the MT Physeter to load the boat for the comeback trip next morning. We loaded and prepared the boat with our gear and left everything ready for the journey back. After this, Inês Bruno, Inês Carneiro and Marina stayed at the airport while João and Gerald went to pick up some food and leave the van of FGF at the University of the Azores. We were finally ready for our flight, and after a few delays we departed and arrived safely in Faial Island at around 23:00. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 35 35 3 MAPGES 2024 LEG 2 - EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON BOARD THE MT PHYSETER AROUND GRACIOSA AND PICO ISLAND SLOPES AND CLOSE-BY SEAMOUNTS 3.1 SUMMARY OF MT PHYSETER LEG 2 Objective: to complement the assessments of the deep-sea benthic communities dwelling on around Graciosa Island slopes and close-by seamounts, and in Ponta da Ilha N (Pico Island) on board of the MT Physeter. These dives aimed to contribute to the overarching goal of better understanding the composition and diversity of deep-sea benthic communities in the Azores, the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) and commercial fish species and assess their environmental status. Statistics: We performed 45 successful dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1030 m depth, covering 20 km of seafloor and producing 44 hours of video footage, 2.40 TB of disc space. Vessel: MT Physeter Dates: 20 July – 1 August 2024 Scientific team: Telmo Morato and Guilherme Gonçalves (chief scientists), Sérgio Gomes, Marc Pladevall, Rachel Lacoste, João Balsa (last 2 days). Figure 37. The scientific team and ship crew on the MT Physeter that participated in the Leg 2 of the MapGES 2024 cruise. 3.2 HIGHLIGHTS 1. During the MapGES 2024 cruise on-board the MT Physeter, we were able to perform 47 dives with the Azor drift-cam down to 1130 m depth covering a wide range of strata (300-1128 m depth). We explored about 20 km of the seafloor and produced 44 hours of video footage. We managed to survey several different areas, starting with the Ilha Azul, Raio seamount and Graciosa Island slopes and ending the leg with the AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 36 36 exploration of Southeastern island slopes of Pico (Pico S Lajes area) and Ponta da Ilha N, the northernmost half of a vast volcano chain which extends for nearly 40 nm starting in the eastern tip of Pico Island. 2. The conspicuous stylasterid Errina atlantica is quite common beyond the 800 m depth mark, where small aggregations of this species can often be observed. However, their extensions are never too large. As we were surveying the northwestern slopes of the island of Graciosa, one of the deep ridges recorded revealed a vast aggregation of this hydrocoral, which extended for several hundreds of meters, in constantly high densities. Despite the clear dominance of this species, the benthic assemblage was quite diverse, with species such as Acanella arbuscula, Candidella imbricata, Leptopsammia formosa and several plexaurids also composing this vast community. 3. While exploring the Graciosa southwestern island slopes, we surveyed several deep sectors which were mostly flat and characterized by soft sediments, usually unsuitable for benthic fauna to attach to. Nevertheless, across several dozens of meters, we constantly observed the presence of many eel-like fishes, roaming close to the seabed. As to why this seemingly barren and sedimentary area attracted so many fishes is a question, we still must find an answer for. 4. We managed to work with the Azor drift-cam in a new area named Raio, a small and deep seamount with a flat top, 20nm off the coast of Graciosa. Fauna wise, the seabed revealed surprisingly high diversities, given the small extension of this deep structure. The usual Acanella arbusculla and Chrysogorgia sp. community was present throughout the 3 dives performed, with other corals having some representation as well, including Candidella imbricata, Madrepora occulata, Narella versluyisi, Errina atlantica and Leiopathes expansa, for instance. We also encountered the long-lived orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus, which we have also recorded on multiple occasions with the Azor drift-cam, usually found in more offshore and deep summits. 5. We observed an astonishing “bird’s nest” Pheronema carpenteri aggregation in Ponta da Ilha N, one of the densest and largest we have recorded with the Azor-drift cam, growing on a large flat area characterized by soft and unconsolidated substrate. This reinforces the idea that this is most certainly the sponge species we encounter most frequently and in higher densities, across a relatively large depth range. 6. We recorded a dense aggregation of small colonies of Errina dabneyi growing on dead coral framework, belonging to the scleractinian Eguchipsammia cornucopia. This shows that, even though this substrate visibly looks like a big coral cemetery, it can still provide an important biogenic framework for other species to colonize, as they would otherwise be dependent on the surrounding sedimentary substrate that usually characterize shallow island slopes. The fact that most colonies are small sized might be a result of a recent recruitment event. In fact, we had already surveyed the shallow tops near this area back in 2019, which revealed an impressive aggregation of the same species, but mostly composed of large-sized colonies. This raises the question as to whether the aggregation we visited this year could be related to the one we discovered in 2019. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 37 37 Figure 38. Location of the 47 video transects (black lines) carried out with the Azor drift-cam during Leg 2 of the MapGES 2024 cruise on board the MT Physeter. Figure 39. Screenshots taken from the footage recorded during Leg 2 of MapGES 2024 cruise on board the MT Physeter. (a) Sponge-dominated community growing on basalt outcrops, with large Geodia sp. and Characella pachastrelloides; (b) Dead coral framework of Eguchipsammia cornucopia, densely colonized by the endemic hydrocoral Errina dabneyi. (c) Vertical wall dominated by the scleractinian Leptopsammia formosa and the hexactinellid Farrea occa; (d) Small colonies of the “bubblegum” coral Paragorgia johnsoni, displaying its most common white morphotype; (e) Deep and diverse benthic community composed by Acanella arbuscula, Chrysogorgia sp., Candidella imbricata and several glass sponges; (f) Vast aggregation of the stylasterid Errina atlantica, being one of the largest recorded so far; (g) Solitary colony of the black coral Leiopathes expansa with associated fauna, on a small rock surrounded by coral rubble; (h) Large benthic community composed of the primnoids Candidella imbricata and Narella versluyisi, occupying vast areas of the deepest sectors explored; (i) Colony of the gorgonian Hemicorallium niobe, displaying an unusually large size; (j) Field of the bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri, spreading several hundreds of meters in consistently high densities; (k) Very large monkfish Lophius piscatorius resting on sandy substrate and (l) a portly six-gill shark Hexanchus griseus, “inspecting” our gear. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 38 38 3.3 CRUISE DIARY OF MT PHYSETER LEG 2 20 July 2024 We are ready to start the MapGES 2024 Leg 2 on board MT Physeter. This leg took place around Graciosa Island slopes and close-by seamounts, and in Ponta da Ilha at the easternmost part of Pico Island. Today, we loaded the MT Physeter with all the necessary gear for a 2-week expedition and organized all the equipment. We have also checked the at-sea laptop and external drives. Everything is ready to go. 21 July 2024 We left Horta harbour towards Graciosa Island at around 07:00 and planned to spend the day working at Ilha Azul seamount and the respective W area. We’ve visited this seamount and the Graciosa Island slopes back in 2020 onboard the FV Galinha. We arrived at the first station at around 09:30 and were able to conduct 4 dives with the Azor drift-cam between 820 m and 990 m depth (St041-St044). The top of this area revealed to be mostly flat and sedimentary, with some sparse rocky outcrops. We explored the steeper northern slopes, the flat top and some features in the southern part of the area. Despite some interesting and occasional encounters, benthic fauna remained somewhat scarce in this first day. The small bathymetric range explored meant that a low diversity of benthic fauna was expected. Apart from some patches of the primnoid coral Candidella imbricata, no other species came as relevant. Nevertheless, solitary colonies of some coral species were observed, mostly on rocky grounds, including the black corals Bathypathes sp., Leiopathes expansa, the bamboo coral Acanella arbuscula and its gorgonian lookalike Chrysogorgia sp., the scleractinians Enallopsammia rostrata and Leptopsammia formosa and some colonies of Plexaurids. From the Phylum Porifera, the glass sponges Pheronema carpenteri and Regadrella phoenix and the demosponge Desmacella grimaldii were among the species observed. We also spotted an interesting type of substrate, not often observed, and with the aspect of consolidated sediments, hosting several specimens of an interesting Bryozoan yet to be identified. Motile fauna observed included Trachyscorpia cristulata, Synaphobranchus kaupii, Molva macrophthalma, fishes from the families Nettastomatidae, Macrouridae, and Halosauridae, and one fish specimen yet to be identified. We finished the last dive at around 18:00 and arrived at São Mateus harbour (a.k.a. Praia) in Graciosa Island at around 19:30. Figure 40. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in Ilha Azul seamount on the 21st July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 45 45 25 July 2024 Today we transited towards the Southwestern slopes of Graciosa Island, taking advantage of the increased wind to explore these sectors. These weather conditions also made drifts more consistent and facilitated dive planning decisions. Nevertheless, on occasion, strong bottom currents at the base of the slopes slightly diverted the direction of the transect, which sometimes meant we missed the desired endpoints, despite the insistent attempts from our skipper to keep the vessel on the path we wanted. On the second to last dive of the day, after only 5 minutes of bottom time, the electrical cable broke on the winch on two spots, so we decided to abort the dive and fix the issue. We explored a wide depth range, from 970 m to 430 m performing a total of 4 dives (St058-St061), two of which were aborted due to technical issues. The deepest areas were mostly characterized by soft sediments, hosting very little benthic fauna. Apart from an aggregation of Xenophyophores, most of the substrate was quite barren, with only a few sea-urchins, while the very sporadic basalts were colonized by a few colonies of Acanella arbuscula and plexaurids. The most interesting aspect of these sectors was the presence of dozens of ell-like fishes roaming close to the seabed throughout several hundreds of meters. The intermediate sectors did reveal more diversity, both in substrate and faunal assemblage. We encountered large basalt walls colonized by several hexactinellids and encrusting sponges, but also by massive sponges such as Geodia sp., Chracella pachastrelloides and Haliclona magna. Many small colonies of Paragorgia johnsoni (mostly its white morphotype) and occasional Acanthogorgia spp. also appeared attached to this steeper seabed. The shallowest plateaus explored at were mostly sedimentary but harboured large colonies of the “whip-coral” Viminella flagellum together with, once again, the demosponge Characella pachastrelloides. On the shallowest dive of the day, the camera system got surrounded by a krill swarm, lowering visibility and complicating the navigation of the system. By the end of the day, the swell and wind speeds had increased substantially, making our work more stressful. As we recovered the equipment in the last dive of the day, we realized that the weight was lost, possibly as a result of the rust on the screw. We ended the last dive sooner at 16:20 and began travelling to Praia harbour. On the day before we started noticing a strong smell in the vessel, similar to sulphur, but could not figure out its origin. Today, as we were returning to shore, we checked the vessel batteries and realized that one of them was leaking fluid. The skipper immediately turned it off and we continued transiting to shore. Figure 48. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Graciosa SW area on the 25th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 46 46 Figure 49. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Graciosa SW area on the 25th July 2024. 26 July 2024 Today we were forced to stay on land due to the bad weather conditions, with wind close to 20 kt. We were able to rest a little bit but also completed pending tasks such as the Cruise report, frame grabs of the videos and process environmental data. We also met with the crew of MT Physeter to help with the problem of the dead battery and missing flag. We had lunch a restaurant in Baía da Folga and, for the rest of the day, we enjoyed some walks and visited a couple of spots around the Graciosa Island, including the Furnas do Enxofre, Caldeira, and Carapacho. In the evening, we loaded most of our stuff in the MT Physeter, since we planned to travel to Pico Island the next day. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 47 47 Figure 50. We stayed on land due to the bad weather conditions and enjoyed some walks and visited a couple of spots around the Graciosa Island on the 26th July 2024. 27 July 2024 Today we packed the rest of our stuff, bought several Graciosa melons and “queijadas” and began transiting towards Graciosa SE area, where we began our first dive at 09:25. The good weather conditions allowed for relatively good drifts on the two dives successfully performed (St062-St063). We sampled areas from 840 to 730 m depth. We covered many rocky outcrops, but also found occasional flat areas with unconsolidated sediments. Most of the benthic fauna was associated, as usual, to the harder substrate, where vertical walls and outcrops harboured aggregations of the solitary sleractinian Leptopsammia formosa and small hexactinellids Farrea occa. Some primnoid corals Narella versluysi and Narella bellissima were also recorded, as well as sporadic colonies of plexaurids and the hydrocoral Errina atlantica. Sparse patches of the bird’s nest Pheronema carpenteri appeared along the explored slopes too. Fishes observed included the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus and small deep-sea shark Deania sp. To arrive at Pico Island around 18:00, we were restricted to working only during the morning. Given the approximately 60 nautical miles we needed to cover to reach Ribeiras harbor in the south of Pico Island, we departed from the Graciosa area at around 14:30. We arrived in Lajes do Pico for refueling at 18:00 and reached Ribeiras at 18:30. Afterward, we enjoyed dinner at our skipper’s house near Ribeiras harbor. Figure 51. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Graciosa SE area on the 27th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 48 48 Figure 52. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Graciosa SE area on the 27th July 2024. 28 July 2024 We left Ribeiras harbour at 08:20 and headed towards the Ponta da Ilha N area, near the eastern tip of Pico Island, where a vast chain of small volcanos along 40 nautical miles makes this long feature a particularly interesting area to explore. We had previously but briefly surveyed this area back in MapGES 2019 and OceanX 2023 cruises, with the area revealing interesting benthic communities and large coral aggregations. It was with big expectations that we transited towards the easternmost part of the area to begin our first dive of the day at around 09:45, completing a total of 5 stations (St064-St069) between 715 m and 425 m depth. One of the dives was considered “not valid” since the camera system never got to the bottom. The wind and current direction were opposite during the morning, making drifts highly irregular. As the wind picked up during the afternoon, it helped our work and made transects more regular. However, we faced multiple technical issues throughout the day, substantially limiting the effectiveness of our work. During the deployment of the first dive, the cable got entangled in the propeller but it did not break the cable nor the umbilical. To release it, one member of the MT Physeter had to go underwater and carefully disentangle it. No significant damage occurred so we were able to resume the deployment and the dive. On the last 3 dives, we lost the live view feed while navigating the system on the bottom or while deploying it. After some time spent troubleshooting, we concluded that the origin of the problem was the electrical cable, which already had several splices where it had got stuck in the winch on previous occasions. In addition to all of this, we also came across a lost longline, which prompted us to cut the dive short. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 49 49 The seabed showed some diversity, in particular attached to rocky basalts, with all communities almost entirely composed by the Phylum Porifera. Massive sponges such as Characella pachastrelloides or Geodia sp. were especially common, but also many small or encrusting sponges. The hexactinellids Farrea occa and the barrelshaped Asconema fristedti were also found growing on steep slopes which were characterized by coral rubble deposits. A shoal of silver scabbard fish Lepidopus caudatus, the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus, Epigonus sp. and a crab Paromola cuvieri composed some of the motile fauna observed. We ended the last dive at 17:40 and returned to Ribeiras. We noticed that one of the motors had lost some oil during the day. The motor was checked by a mechanic and fixed. We had “Sopas de Espírito Santo” for dinner at Edgar’s place. Figure 53. Location of the Azor drift-cam dives on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N area on the 28th July 2024. Figure 54. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N area on the 28th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 50 50 29 July 2024 After checking the motor oil early in the morning and changing to another umbilical, we left the Ribeiras harbour at around 08:30, towards some small peaks at Ponta da Ilha N. The day was much smoother than the previous one with much less technical problems and slightly better drifts. Today, we made 6 dives with the Azor driftcam between 414 and 897 m depth. The first dive of the day was conducted at a small peak named after the sinking of the fishing boat “Rufo”. It was the best dive of the day. By coincidence we met Rui at Graciosa Island. At the time of the sinking, Rui was a young man that spent 28 hours in the sea and saved all crew members after swimming alone towards a distant fishing boat. We aborted this dive due to lost fishing lines, possibly from “Rufo”. The drifts for the rest of the day were difficult to predict due to reduced wind, swell, and tides. Many times, the Azor drift-cam moved backwards or sideways, or even spinning around itself. The shallowest sectors explored, at around 500 m depth were mostly characterized by sandy substrate, with little benthic fauna growing on it. Apart from some basalt outcrops with several small or encrusting sponges, very few specimens from the Phylum Cnidaria were observed. Massive sponges Geodia sp. and Characellla pachastrelloides were very sparsely recorded. At around 890 m we briefly recorded a benthic community dominated by the primnoid Candidella imbricata, concomitant with other coral species too, including the stony coral Leptopsammia formosa, the bamboo coral Acanella arbusculla and the primnoid Narella versluysi. Some colonies of plexaurids and Hemicoralium niobe and Hemicoralium tricolor were also recorded, but less frequently. As depth decreased, glass sponges Regadrella phoenix, and Farrea occa and Pheronema carpenteri were observed quite frequently as well, in particular the latter, who formed constant patches along steep slopes. Some sectors of these slopes were densely colonized by the corals Narella versluysi and Narella bellissima. The sandy areas we drifted over were usually barren, with only eel-like fishes seen roaming close to the seabed. Several bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactyloperus were also recorded at different depth strata. We finished the last dive a little earlier than normal because we had to refuel the MT Physeter in Lajes of Pico. We arrived on shore at around 20h00 and had dinner at Ritinha restaurant. Figure 55. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N area on the 29th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 51 51 Figure 56. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N area on the 29th July 2024. 30 July 2024 We left Ribeiras harbor at around 08:15 and arrived at our first sampling spot at 10:00, where we began our first dive of the day. We decided to explore the mid-sectors of the Ponta da Ilha N, near where we had previously surveyed a hill with the OceanX 2023 cruise. We were aware that the drifts would be challenging and unpredictable, given the experiences we had on the two previous days. Even though the prevalent wind direction was Southeast, the bottom currents were strong, having a great influence on the overall direction of the drift. Nevertheless, we were able to conduct 4 successful dives (St076-St079), across a depth range between 320 and 950 m. During the morning, we had news from the RV Arquipélago, who were near Princesa Alice. They were supposed to start exploring the area today, but the bad weather forced them to come ashore during the night. Strangely, our morning was pretty good weather wise, but this news left us alert and constantly assessing the local conditions and forecast for the next hours. Indeed, after only two dives, the weather shifted substantially, prompting us to move to areas closer to shore, where we would be more sheltered. We moved to the area Pico S Lajes, where the strong winds from the northwest would be weaker allowing us to perform one last dive. However, the wind and current were, once again, in opposite directions, which resulted in very difficult navigations. In addition to this, we faced difficulties in the live view feed, making it almost impossible to navigate the drift-cam system due to very bad visibility. All of this made us abort the dive and fix the issue, which was related to the car battery that feeds the live view box. We were able to start another dive shortly after fixing the problem. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 52 52 We encountered interesting benthic faunal assemblages, observing large colonies of the hydrocoral Hemicorallium niobe as well as the gorgonian cf. Chelidonisis aurantiaca, appearing quite frequently too. The bird’s nest Pheronema carpenteri was particularly common, forming dense patches along some of the explored slopes, at around 780m depth, where colonies of the primnoid corals Narella bellissima and Narella versluysi and small demosponges Macandrewia azorica were also present. We also drifted over a large Geodia megastrella with a small decapod Paromola cuvieri on it. The shallowest tops explored harboured little benthic fauna, with only a couple of large demosponges Characella pachastrelloides and Petrosia crassa or other smaller sponges attached to basalts. Occasional colonies of the endemic hydrocoral Errina dabneyi were also encountered within these depths and outcrops. Small deep-sea sharks were recorded on the deepest sectors, including Deania sp. and Dalatias licha as well as mora fish Mora moro. After consulting the team and talking to Norberto (the owner of the MT Physeter), we decided to extend to cruise for two more days, so we could finish the work in Ponta da Ilha N. Tonight, Sérgio Gomes, Marc Pladeval and Rachel Lacoste had to leave Pico Island and took a late night ferry to Faial. João Balsa would arrive the next day to continue this Leg. We also extended the stay in Casa do Vinagreiro for two more nights. Figure 57. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N and Pico S Lajes areas on the 30th July 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 53 53 Figure 58. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Ponta da Ilha N and Pico S Lajes areas on the 30th July 2024. 31 July 2024 The wind peaked up during the night and we were not sure if we could work today. After João Balsa arrival to Ribeiras harbour, we assessed the weather conditions with the MT Physeter captain and finally decided to have a try exploring the island slopes south of Pico. We knew beforehand that the prevalent wind from the North would be too strong for unsheltered and more offshore locations. We managed to perform three reasonably good dives along depth strata since it was not possible to work across a depth gradient. The other two dives of the day didn’t drift much or towards a good direction and were aborted. In sum, we managed to perform 5 dives in Pico S Lajes area (St080-St084), between 297 and 926 m depth, starting the first dive at around 10:00. The shallowest tops surveyed contained, as usual in this area, low benthic diversity, with mostly sedimentary substrate and only a few occasional outcrops harbouring several demosponges such as Petrosia crassa and Macandrewia azorica and colonies of the hydrocoral Errina dabneyi. A massive six-gill shark also appeared in front of our cameras, being one of the largest we had seen. The deepest areas were also quite barren and characterized by unconsolidated sediments. The drifts were usually the opposite of what we intended, and headed towards deeper terrain, and almost never upslope, where outcrops should reveal more interesting benthic communities. We ended the last dive at around 18:30, just on time to refuel the MT Physeter. We then headed to Ribeiras harbour where we arrived at 19:30. We had a barbecue dinner at Edgar’s place. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 54 54 Figure 59. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Pico S Lajes on the 31st July 2024. Figure 60. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the Pico S Lajes area on the 31st July 2024. 1 August 2024 This was the last day of the MapGES 2024 Leg 2 cruise on board the MT Physeter. Early in the morning, we packed all our stuff, loaded the Mt Physeter, checked-out from the Casa do Vinagreiro, and left the Ribeiras harbour for our last dives of Leg 2. Today we were able to conduct 4 dives (St085-St088) between 375 and 935 m depth. We started our first dive at around 10:15 and the drift was steady and straight. After the first dive we noticed that a bit of water had leaked inside the lasers/led battery housing, which made us put aside the used battery and clean the cylinder. We also lost a weight as it got briefly stuck on a small overhang. We encountered very interesting benthic assemblages, in particular on the shallowest areas explored. Large colonies of the primnoid corals Paracalyptrophora josephinae and Callogorgia verticillata occasionally colonized parts of the slopes, where small aggregations of the whip-coral Viminella flagellum and the scleractinian Enallopsammia rostrata were also visible. Several demosponges were observed, such as Characella pachastrelloides, Petrosia crassa and Geodia sp. The flat tops were covered in a dense of mostly dead coral framework of the scleractinian Eguchipsammia cornucopia, where some polyps were still alive. This dense bed AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 61 61 Figure 68. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores E and S on the 13th August 2024. Figure 69. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores E and S on the 13th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 62 62 14 August 2024 During the night, two big-game fishing boats stopped next to MT Physeter. We had to wait for the crew to remove the boats before we leave the harbour which delayed our departure. We finally left Lajes das Flores at around 10:00. During the day we performed 4 dives (St097-St100) with the Azor drift-cam between 400 m and 911 m depth. The day went out without major technical problems, but we decided to change the umbilical before the last dive to verify if the image was better. It indeed got better, with more contrast making the navigation easier and safer. In the last dive, the drift was moving towards two anchored buoys, probably left by a fishing boat, we forced us to abort the dive earlier than expected. In the deepest areas explored we found a mixed of hard substrate covered with soft sediments and areas of only soft sediments where we were able to spot the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima. In general, these were areas with low biodiversity: a few bamboo corals from Keratosididae family and Acanella arbuscula and the gorgonian Chrysogorgia sp. In the vertical wall of these areas, we found a few colonies of the black coral Leiopathes expansa. As the depth decreases, the soft bottoms started to have patches of coral rubble and pebbles colonized by sponges such as Farrea occa and Regradella phoenix. The soft bottoms were mainly colonized by the bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri and we were able to identify some small aggregation of the gorgonians Narella verluysi and N. bellissima together with this hexactinellid sponge. In the rocky bottoms of the shallower areas, we identified some small aggregations of the black coral Elatopathes abietina, both morphotypes of the whip coral Viminella flagellum, the gorgonian Acanthogorgia spp. and a few large colonies of the primnoid Callogorgia verticillata. During this day, we recognised several species of elasmobranch: the sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus, Dalatias licha, Deania sp., Galeorhinus galeus, and possibly a Odontaspis ferox. The most common fish found were the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus, the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus and fishes from the Macrouridae family and Anguiliform fishes. We ended our last dive at around 18:15 and transited back to the harbour, where we arrived at around 19:00. Figure 70. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores S on the 14th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 63 63 Figure 71. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores S on the 14th August 2024. 15 August 2024 MT Physeter left Lajes das Flores at around 08:30 to pick-up the scientific crew from Porto das Poças at Santa Cruz. We board the vessel at around 09:30 and transited to the Flores W area. The reduced wind and tides intensity made most of the drifts slow and difficult, with the last dives being mostly tows rather than drifts. Nevertheless, we managed to perform 4 dives (St101-St104) between 375 m and 943 m depth. The deepest areas explored were mainly composed of soft sediments colonized by hexactinellid sponges like Regadrella phoenix, Pheronema carpenteri and Farrea occa. Besides sponges it was also possible to observe a few colonies of the black coral Leiopathes cf. expansa and Parantipathes hirondelle and the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima. As the depth decreases, the biodiversity increased, and the bottoms became rockier, but some parts were still covered with soft sediments and patches of coral rubble. In the shallower areas, we were able to observe large colonies of the primnoid Callogorgia verticillata and small aggregations of the whip coral Viminella flagellum, both morphotypes, together with the black coral Elatopathes abietina, the gorgonian Acanthogorgia spp. and the sponges Haliclona implexa and Phakellia ventillabrum. The mobile fauna was diverse and composed by fishes from the Macrouridae family, Anguiliforms, the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus, some echinoderms such as the sea urchins Cidaris cidaris and sea-stars Peltaster placenta and a sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus. We finished the last dive at around 18:00 and arrived at Lajes harbour at 19:00. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 64 64 Figure 72. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores W on the 15th August 2024. Figure 73. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores W on the 15th August 2024. 16 August 2024 We refuelled the MT Physeter at 09:30 since the officials were not available earlier. After some delays in the process, we only left Lajes harbour at around 10:30. Luís Rodrigues and Marc Pladevall arrived at Flores by plane in the morning to replace Gerald Taranto and Rachel Lacoste. The sea was flat, with very low winds and slow tides, and the air temperature got close to 30°C. Today, we explored the Flores NW area, where spotted a large coral garden of Paragorgia johnsoni in 2022. The first dive of the day (St105) was not valid since we lost the liveview during the descend. We were verifying the quality of the spare umbilical that proved to need extra repairs. We had no other major issues during the days. In the other 3 dives (St106-St108), we explored about 1,200 m of seafloor between 420 m and 850 m depth. The deepest areas explored were mainly composed of hard substrate covered with soft sediments where it was possible to identify the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima, some bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri and one colony of the black coral Leiopathes cf. expansa. As depth decreased, the bottom changed to rocky boulders and vertical walls colonized by encrusting sponges, the hexactinellid sponges Farrea occa, Regadrella AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 65 65 phoenix and Gymnorete sp., and the demosponge Stryphnus sp. Unlike 2022, we only found a small and solitary colony of the red morphotype of the bubble-gum coral Paragorgia johnsoni. The shallower depths were more diverse with several sponge species (e.g., Characella pachastrelloides complex, Petrosia sp., Haliclona implexa and Phekellia ventillabrum). In the last two we found aggregations of Viminella flagellum (both morphotypes), Dentomuricea aff. meteor, Paracalyptrophora josephinae, Acanthogorgia spp. and small colonies of Callogorgia verticillata. The black coral Elatopathes abietina and the scleractinian Dendrophyllia cornigera were also observed but more scattered. The mobile fauna included Helicolenus dactylopterus (bluemouth rockfish), Hoplostethus mediterraneus (silver roughy) and Conger conger, sea urchins Echinus melo and two Hexanchus griseus (sixgill shark). We arrived at Lajes harbour at 19:30 and went for dinner with all the team. Figure 74. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores NW on the 16th August 2024. Figure 75. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores NW on the 16th August 2024. 17 August 2024 The scientific crew was picked-up from Porto das Poças at Santa Cruz das Flores at 08:30. We said goodbye to Gerald and Rachel and transited to the Corvo SE area. As in the previous day, the weather conditions were AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 66 66 perfect to go to the beach but not for drifting. The reduced winds, currents and sweel, forced the MT Physeter to tow the Azor drift-cam during the dives. We conducted 4 dives (St109-St112) between 350 m and 1030 m depth. Surprisingly, two buoys were broken at depth and one concentric light got flooded. During the last dive we got stuck in a vertical wall and lost the live view. Later, while analysing the videos, we noticed that during this dive one of the lasers LEDs stopped working in the middle if the dive. The deepest areas surveyed were mainly composed of soft sediments where it was possible to observe the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima, a few colonies of the bamboo coral Acanella arbuscula along with the gorgonian Chrysogorgia sp. and some cup corals from the Caryophilliidae family. As the depth decreased, the bottom changed to rockier covered with soft sediments and occasional patches of coral rubble and pebbles, often colonized by encrusting sponges and hexactinellid sponges such as Farrea occa, Regadrella phoenix and the bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri. These areas were also colonized by diverse corals such as Narella bellissima that formed small aggregations with a few colonies and Callogorgia verticillata. The black coral Elatopathes abietina was also abundant in these shallower areas as well as the hydrozoan Errina dabneyi, that was found mixed with a few colonies of the bubble-gum coral Paragorgia johnsoni, and the whip coral Viminella flagellum (both morphotypes) that was found in small aggregation together with the gorgonian Acanthogorgia spp. and the demosponge Phakellia ventillabrum. The motile fauna was composed by fishes from the Macrouridae family, Anguiliforms, the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the silver and orange roughy, respectively Hoplostethus mediterraneus and H. atlanticus and some sea urchins like Echinus melo and Cidaris cidaris. After the dives, we transited to Porto da casa harbour at Corvo island, where we had dinner at the local festival and spent the night at MT Physeter. Figure 76. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Corvo SE on the 17th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 67 67 Figure 77. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Corvo SE on the 17th August 2024. 18 August 2024 We started the day at around 10:00, when we left Porto da Casa in direction of the first dive location in Corvo NE area. The sea conditions were slightly choppy with mid intensity winds and some swell. Before starting the first dive, we changed the “old” lasers with a new system we have just received from Horta and fixed some connection problems in the laser battery housing. We conducted 4 dives (St113-St116) between 460 m and 900 m depth. The drift in the 3rd dive was slow and we decided to repeat the dive in the same location. The areas explored were characterized by basaltic bottoms covered with soft sediments and coral rubble. The deepest areas, mainly composed of coral rubble, were more diverse with a few colonies of the stylasterid Errina atlantica, a dispersed but abundant aggregation of the gorgonians Narella bellissima and N. verluysi and some exemplars of the soft coral Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus sp., alongside with the hexactinellid sponges Farrea occa, Regadrella phoenix, Asconema sp., Pheronema carpenteri and the demosponges Poecillastra compressa and Desmacella grimaldii. On the other hand, the soft bottoms of the shallower areas were only colonized by a few scleractinian Flabellum sp. and encrusting sponges found on the sparse boulders. The motile fauna was mainly composed of fishes, namely the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus from the Macrouridae family, the sea urchins Cidaris cidaris and a shark possibly Odontaspis ferox. After the dives, we transited back to Flores Island and the scientific crew left the MT Physeter in Santa Cruz while Edgar and Afonso went to Lajes das Flores harbour. We had dinner at local food truck after a short swim in Poça das Salemas. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 68 68 Figure 78. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Corvo NE and NW on the 18th August 2024. Figure 79. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Corvo NE and NW on the 18th August 2024. 19 August 2024 We planned to refuel the MT Physeter at 09:30 in Lajes harbour. However, the fuel truck only arrived at 11:30 which substantially delayed our departure. Apparently, issues between the JH Ornelas fuel company and the port authorities resulted in this weird delay. During the waiting period, we changed the diffuse light system because the main light was broken. Because of the delay, we conducted only 3 dives (St117-St119) between 350 m and 870 m depth in the Flores W area. The deepest areas explored were characterized by a soft bottom, with a few patches of coral rubble, colonized by the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima, a small bryozoan yet to identify, cup corals from the Caryophilliidae family and the hexactinellid sponges Pheronema carpenteri and Hyalonema (Cyclonema) thomsonis. As the depth decreases the bottom become more rockier but still covered in soft sediments occupied by the scleractinian Flabellum sp. and gardens formed by the gorgonians Acanthogorgia spp., the whip coral Viminella flagellum (both morphotypes), a few colonies of Paracalyptrophora josephinae, the scleractinian Dendrophyllia cornigera, the black coral Elatopathes abietina and demosponges Phakellia ventilabrum, Haliclona implexa, Macandrewia azorica, Neophrissospongia nolitangere and Leiodermatium sp. (blue and AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 69 69 white morphotypes). The motile fauna was represented by the fishes Conger conger, the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the silver roughy Hoplostethus mediterraneus, large shoals of Capros aper and the sharks Hexanchus griseus and Galeorhinus galeus. During the last dive (St119) we had a few difficulties with navigation due to a “cloud” of krill that was following the drift-cam. It was also possible to identify the echinoderms Echinus melo, Cidaris cidaris, Cyathidium foresti and Zoroaster fulgens. Today we finished the dives later than usually and arrived at Lajes das Flores harbour only at around 21:00. We had dinner at home and, as usual, recharged all the batteries. Figure 80. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores W on the 19th August 2024. Figure 81. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores W on the 19th August 2024. 20 August 2024 Today, we planned to work in the NE of Flores Island and, therefore, the scientific crew was picked up at the Porto das Poças harbour in Santa Cruz. The weather conditions were good with low swell and some wind intensity from the NE. We conducted 4 dives (St120-St123) between 720 and 1050 m depth, with reasonably good drifts. In some of the drifts, however, the Azor drift-cam was towed by the MT Physeter, so we were able to reach the top of the features. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 70 70 In general, the deepest areas were mainly soft sediments, with occasional occurrences of some small boulders, and as the depth decreased it started to become more rockier with a few vertical walls. The fauna observed at greater depths was mostly the foraminifera Syringammina fragillissima, the bamboo coral Acanella arbuscula, together with the gorgonian Chrysogorgia sp., cup corals from Caryophilliidae family, and an aggregation of the hydrozoan Crypthelia sp. It was also possible to identify a notable diversity of black corals, including Bathypathes sp., Parantipathes hirondelle, Antipathes dichotoma, Leiopathes cf. expansa and Phanopathes erinaceus, however all in low abundances. As the depth decreases, a dispersed aggregation of Narella verluysi together with the soft coral Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus sp. and the scleractinian Leptopsammia formosa. The sponges identified were the demosponges Macandrewia azorica and Phakellia ventilabrum and the hexactinellid sponges Pheronema carpenteri, Regadrella phoenix and Aphrocallistes beatrix complex. The motile fauna observed consisted of fishes, in particular, the orange and silver roughy, respectively Hoplostethus atlanticus and H. mediterraneus, the bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus, the oreo fish Neocyttus helgae and some Anguiliform fishes. We also observed sharks with a not so usual sighting of Etmopterus sp., echinoderms, such as the sea urchins Cidaris cidaris, the and a purple crinoid, and the crab Chaceon affinis. During the last dive, we received an amberjack fish for our dinner; an offer from Rui that was delivered by boat to the MT Physeter by Carlos. We arrived at Lajes das Flores at around 19:30 and had barbecue fish for dinner. Figure 82. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Flores NE and E on the 20th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 77 77 27 August 2024 This was our first day of work at Terceira Island this year. We agreed to meet with the MT Physeter crew at around 09:00, due to the bad weather forecast of moderate northern wind (13-15 knots). Since the forecast improved, we decided to leave for our first station. We left the harbour at around 09:30 towards the southern area of Terceira Island to work a bit more sheltered from the northern winds, that were still blowing. We completed 4 dives (St. 132-135) between 156 to 840 m depth. Overall, all dives went well, with the expected drifts and good navigations. The first one went on a good SW drift moving along a crest. During the second dive the sea conditions were not ideal, with a sustained wind that generated a rough sea. While ascending from this dive, we noticed that the weight was lost, and we had to replace it. After this dive, we decided to go back for a more sheltered area south of the island, performing another two good dives, with the third one aiming to explore a small mound on the island shelf, which we managed to cross thanks to the ability of Edgar in manoeuvring the vessel. The seabed explored was mainly constituted by hard substrates and with sporadic but extensive soft sediment patches. The deepest areas observed presented walls covered with the demosponge Farrea occa, small colonies of Pleurocorallium johnsoni, Leptopsammia formosa, and the “bird’s nest” sponge Pheronema carpenteri. In the shallower strata we recorded some interesting large colonies of the black coral Leiopathes glaberrima, and some casual Parantipathes hirondelle, Bathypathes sp., and the gorgonians Paramuricea/Placogorgia complex and Dentomuricea aff. meteor. The gorgonians Acanthogorgia spp., and Viminella flagellum (present in both white and yellow morphs) were also a frequent sighting during the dives performed. Sponges were mainly represented by Poecillastra compressa, and big individuals of Haliclona complexa and Phakellia ventilabrum. Motile fauna was abundant, being recorded fish species such as Hoplostethus mediterraneus, Helicolenus dactylopterus, Anthias anthias, Aulopus filamentosus, among others. We arrived back in Praia da Vitoria harbour at around 18:15. Figure 91. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira S on the 27th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 78 78 Figure 92. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira S on the 27th August 2024. 28 August 2024 We left Praia harbour at around 08:00 in direction to Angra do Heroísmo to refuel the boat. Due to the slight northern winds of the day, we decided to go to the NW side of Terceira to explore the area called Serreta. We performed 3 dives during this day (St136 – 138). The first dive was done on the westernmost part of Terceira, at depths between 800 and 1000 m. The dive had a good drift, and the boat moved as expected, being able to reach the summit of the structure. After this dive, we headed northeast to continue exploring the deep areas of the small ridges that characterize Serreta. The second dive also had a good drift, and allowed us to explore the ridge alongside, starting at 1000 m depth and reaching the summit at 779 m depth. The last dive of the day also aimed to explore the deep parts of the small ridges of Serreta, this time further north. As the previous dive, the drift was good and allowed us to easily reach the summit. During this day the areas explored were either characterized by basaltic outcrops covered by soft sediments or sand fields the typical fauna from deeper areas. We encountered some small aggregations of the black corals Chrysogorgia sp. and sparse Acanella arbuscula. There were also frequent cup corals from the species Leptopsammia formosa as well as occasional stylasterids, some from the species Pliobothrus symmetricus. Regarding sponge assemblage, it was mainly composed by the small glass sponge Farrea occa and occasional Desmacella grimaldii. The top of the seamount was for the most part composed by large aggregations of Narella versluysi and N. bellissima, together with the glass sponges Regadrella phoenix and Pheronema carpenteri, and occasional Acanthogorgia spp. Echinoderms were also frequent with a purple crinoid being observed throughout most of the dives, as well as ceriantharians and the sea urchin Cidaris cidaris. Lastly, we drifted by some mobile fauna such as the shrimp Aristaeopsis edwardsiana, the crab Paromola cuvieri and the fishes Mora moro, Chaunax sp. and some anguiliforms. The system got back to surface at 18:00, when we started to head back to Praia. We arrived at Praia da Vitória harbour at around 19:30. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 79 79 Figure 93. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira W Serreta and Terceira N on the 28th August 2024. Figure 94. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira W Serreta and Terceira N on the 28th August 2024 29 August 2024 On another shiny morning, we left the Praia da Vitória harbour at around 09:10 in direction to the northwesternmost part of Terceira Island (Terceira N). The weather forecast for today was good with a light breeze blowing from north, so we expected a productive day of work. We were able to perform 4 dives (St139St142) between depths of 255 and 990m. The first dive was planned on the deepest part of a ridge, starting at 1000 m depth and moving upslope. The drift on surface gave a NE direction, but this changed when the driftcam reached the seabed, starting to move on the opposite direction. Edgar had to work with the vessel top make it move towards the desired end point, which made the navigation of the camera relatively difficult. The second and third dives of the day went very well. The last two dives of the day were both aborted due to bad drifts, and even the skipper couldn’t hold the boat to follow the desired drift. The deepest areas explored (~700-990m) were characterized by basaltic outcrops covered with soft sediment, where we mostly observed some bamboo corals from the species Acanella arbuscula and Chrysogorgya sp., colonizing the seafloor, the cup coral Leptopsammia formosa and occasional Bathypathes sp. We also identified Hertwigia falcifera sponge – a rare observation on our videos specially with the Azor drift-cam – and some glass AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 80 80 sponges such as Farrea occa, Asconema sp. and Regadrella phoenix. However, this community was dominated by dense coral gardens of Narella versluysi sometimes together with the primnoid cf. Candidella imbricata, other times with Narella belissima as well, and some sparse Hemicorallium tricolor. Moving up to shallower dives (~250-600m) showed the typical fauna of shallower areas with coral gardens composed by small Viminella flagellum with Acanthogorgia spp., aggregations of large Dentomuricea aff. meteor with either Callogorgia verticillata or Paracalyptrophora josephinae. Most observed sponges in this area were Desmacella grimaldii, Phakellia ventilabrum, Characella spp. and Leiodermatium spp. from both blue and white morphs. The shallowest areas were mainly composed by small reefs of the stony coral Eguchipsammia cornucopia, sparse Leiopathes glaberrima and occasional aggregations of corals from the family Aphanapatidae. Regarding other fauna, we spotted some sea-urchins from the species Cidaris cidaris and Echinus melo, as well as some frequent purple crinoids. Finally, in deeper areas we encountered some fishes like Mora moro, anguiliforms and one Deania sp. shark, while in shallower areas we found one Conger conger and Capros aper and Anthias anthias shoals. Still regarding motile fauna, we were able to record the lobster species Palinurus elephas, which is an extremely rare observation with the Azor drift-cam. We arrived in Praia da vitória harbour at around 19:00. Figure 95. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira N on the 29th August 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 81 81 Figure 96. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira N on the 29th August 2024. 30 August 2024 After taking our material to the MT Physeter, we left Praia da Vitória harbour at around 08:30 in direction to Angra do Heroísmo where we had our refuel schedule to 09:00. The refuelling took a bit longer than expected, and we could not leave Angra until 10:30. We headed directly to Gastromar area, to explore several ridges located on the area further SE of Terceira. We were able to perform 3 dives during this day (St143-St145) from 609 to 994m depth. The first two dives aimed two deep ridges, both starting at around 1000 m depth and aiming to reach the summits, both at depths of around 700 m. These two deep dives went well, with a very predictable and constant drift on a NE direction. The second dive finished past 16:00h, which meant that there was not enough time for a third deep dive, and we decided to explore a shallower ridge on the central area of Gastromar, starting at 620 m and finishing at 570 m depth. During this last dive, the wind started to pick up and towards the end, the sea started to be rough, on the limit of continue working with the drift-cam. The sediment observed during the dives was mainly composed of hard structures belonging to basaltic outcrops and sometimes interrupted by sandy patches or even coral rubble framework. As all the dives performed were generally deep, the coral fauna observed included species such as the bamboo coral Acanella arbuscula, the scleractinian Leptopsammia formosa, several “bubble gum” coral Paragorgia johnsoni (in both red and white morphs), the primnoids Narella versluysi, Candidella imbricata and the black coral Parantipathes hirondelle. Diversity of sponge fauna was a bit lower, although we could spot and highlight Macandrewia azorica, Farrea occa, and Poecillastra compressa. We also drifted over some sharks of the genus Deania and the fish Mora moro. The last dive ended at 18:10, and we headed back to Praia, where we arrived nearly at 20:00. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 82 82 Figure 9797. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Gastromar on the 30th of August 2024. Figure 98. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Gastromar on the 30th of August 2024 31 August – 2 September 2024 The weather got considerable worst on these days. As the forecast predicted, the wind got stronger (average 16 knots), blowing from the north/northeast quadrant and the waves reached 2.3meters. The scientific team and the MT Physeter crew were forced to stay on land. The team made the most of this time to complete some pending tasks such as the cruise report, frame grabs, clips for communication on twitter and the Rolex report. We also met with the MT Physeter crew to repair the electric cable that broke on the last day of sea work. Finally, we enjoyed some free-time and explored a bit of the island, going for a swim in Biscoitos area and visiting Angra do Heroísmo. On the 1st of September we changed the team for the last week of the mission: with Inês Carneiro arriving to swap with João Balsa. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 83 83 Figure 99. We stayed on land due to the bad weather conditions. 3 September 2024 Due to the bad weather conditions that extended to this day, with NE winds around 15 knots and NW waves of around 1.8 meters, we delayed our departure from Praia da Vitória harbour to around 09:00. Even knowing that the sea conditions were not ideal, we decided to give it a try close to the coast, and we navigated 13NM heading towards Terceira E hoping to be able to work. In total we performed 4 shallow dives (St146-St149), from 101 to 427 m depth. After a rough navigation, with some team members getting sea sick, we arrived at our first location and fortunately, we were able to perform our first dive of the day successfully. We then decided that even though the conditions were not ideal, we could continue our work, so we carefully proceeded to the next location 2 nm further out from the first point. After the second dive of the day, we could tell the wind was starting to decrease and the work conditions were slowly improving. We continued to our third location of the day, 3 nm away from the previous location. Because we were further away from coast and a bit more exposed to the wind, our skipper warned us this was the distance limit for our work today, so we started heading inside for our last dive of the day. The drift and navigation were generally difficult due to the opposite directions of the wind and waves. Substrate observed was generally constituted by basaltic outcrops and soft sediment patches. In terms of fauna as the maximum depth recorded was 427 m, with the benthic fauna observed being related to shallow strata. It was common to observe the hydrozoan Lytocarpia myriophyllum attached to the soft bottom. When the substrate was harder, we drifted over several other coral species such as gardens of the gorgonians Acanthogorgia spp., Viminella flagellum and Dentomuricea aff. meteor, and sometimes with the presence of Paracalyptrophora josephinae. Aggregations of the scleractinian Eguchipsammia cornucopia were also seen. We also recorded sponge species that included some exemplars belonging to the genus Petrosia, Characella pachastreloides, Neophrisospongia nolitangere and Phakellia ventilabrum. Regarding motile fauna, an AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 84 84 interesting aggregation of small shrimps was observed in a basaltic wall. We also recorded a sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus), a Lophius piscatorius, Raja clavata, shoals of Anthias anthias and several species of Octopoda. After a successful day of work, against all the odds, we headed back to Praia da Vitória harbour where we arrived at 17:50. We celebrated the day with an ice-cream by the beach after leaving the boat. Figure 100. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira NE and Terceira E on the 3rd September 2024. Figure 101. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira NE and Terceira E on the 3rd September 2024. 4 September 2024 We left Praia da Vitória harbour around 07:45 heading to Angra do Heroísmo to refuel. Refuelling was scheduled for 09:00 however we managed to refuel earlier, so we were ready around 09:30. We decided to make the most of the improved sea conditions and headed to Gastromar to complete the area. We conducted a total of 2 dives (St150-151) from 550 to 785m depth. When we arrived at the first location, the wind was stronger than the weather forecast described. Still, we decided to give it a try and we started the first dive of the day. During the first dive, the skipper warned us that if the conditions continued like this it would be better to go inside, because the wind was getting stronger, and the sea conditions were starting to get dangerous, compromising our safety. By the end of the first dive, we spotted a lost fishing line and since we already had 01:12 hours of bottom time, AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 85 85 we decided to come up. After finishing the first dive we started moving towards Terceira S, hoping that the sea conditions would allow us to continue working. Although the conditions were not ideal, we deployed the camera and were able to perform one more dive. However, the wind was getting stronger and the sea rougher, the cable was constantly tense due to the strong current and the work on the winch was getting risky. During both dives we explored areas with a great amount of hard substrate, with the constant presence of basaltic outcrops which contained most of the fauna observed attached. The fauna included the “whip coral” Viminella flagellum, Acanthogorgia spp., the “bubble gum coral” Paragorgia johnsoni (present in both morphs) and the genus Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus. The sponge species Pheronema carpenteri and Geodia sp., were commonly spotted during the dives. From the motile fauna observed we can highlight the presence of a shark belonging to the genus Deania and some bluemouth rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus. After the second dive, we decided to move back to Praia da Vitória harbour where we arrived around 16:35. Figure 102. Location of the dives conducted with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira S and Gastromar on the 4th September 2024. Figure 103. Screenshots of the video footages recorded with the Azor drift-cam on-board the MT Physeter in the slopes of Terceira S and Gastromar on the 4th September 2024. AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 86 86 5 and 6 September 2024 After a challenging end of the previous day, weather conditions worsened with northeast wind of 14/15 knots and rough sea conditions. We decided not to take unnecessary risks and stayed on land. During these days we took the opportunity to work on the mission report, analysing the recorded videos, and organizing all the equipment to take to the boat. By the end of the day, on the 6th, we loaded the boat and prepared everything for the trip back to Faial the day after. Figure 104. We stayed on land on the 5th and the 6th due to the bad weather conditions. 7 September 2024 Today was the last day of work of the Leg4 onboard MT Physeter. We left the house around 07:30, loaded the boat with the rest of our equipment and bags. Part of the team went to the University to leave the van, while others headed to Angra do Heroísmo on MT Physeter, to refuel. We left Angra do Heroísmo around 09:30 and since we couldn’t work the two days before because of the weather conditions, we decided to take advantage of the better sea conditions and did two dives before heading to Faial. We started heading to Terceira E area. However, the waves were still high due to the NE winds and since that area was too exposed to allow us to work, we decided to move to Terceira SW Angra area. We performed 2 dives (St152-153) from a depth of 578 to 812 m. The first dive went well with a good drift, although the structure didn’t pass right through the summit of the mound. The second dive was short due to a very strong drift (that allow us to quickly pass the top of the seamount). The sediment observed consisted majorly in outcropping rocks, where the most fauna was observed. The biodiversity was not outstanding, with the sighting of some gorgonians such as Viminella flagellum, Acanthogorgia spp., soft corals of the genus Anthomastus/Pseudoanthomastus and the black coral Parantipathes hirondelle and Leiopathes expansa. In terms of sponges, we drifted over some big exemplars of AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 93 93 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 94 94 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 95 95 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 96 96 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 97 97 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 98 98 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 99 99 6.3 “LIFE” ON BOARD MT PHYSETER DURING MAPGES 2024 LEG3 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 100 100 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 101 101 AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH GROUP, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES - OKEANOS, UNIVERSITY OF THE AZORES, PORTUGAL MAPGES 2024 CRUISE REPORT: EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF DEEP-SEA BIODIVERSITY IN THE AZORES ON-BOARD THE MT PHYSETER - 102 102 6.4 “LIFE” ON BOARD MT PHYSETER DURING MAPGES 2024 LEG4 AJUSTE DIRETO N.º 11/DRPM/2022 - CARACTERIZAÇÃO DOS HABITATS DE PROFUNDIDADE, COM VISTA AO SEU MAPEAMENTO ATÉ AO LIMITE EXTERIOR DA SUBÁREA DOS AÇORES DA ZONA ECONÓMICA EXCLUSIVA PORTUGUESA RELATÓRIO DAS CAMPANHAS REALIZADAS DURANTE O PRIMEIRO PERÍODO DE MISSÕES DE CAMPO (RM1) – 109