CONICET scientists will once again explore the depths of the Argentine Sea aboard the Falkor

Table of Contents

Following the impact of the Continental Slope IV campaign, the Argentine Deep Sea Studies Group will once again embark on the Schmidt Ocean Institute vessel to study the deep ecosystems of the Ameghino and Almirante Brown canyons, located off the coast of Chubut province.

An amazing telescope octopus ( Amphitretus sp .) documented at a depth of 888 meters in the Mar del Plata canyon. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Following the enormous impact of the Continental Slope IV: Submarine Oases of the Mar del Plata Canyon expedition, which thrilled millions of people through streaming, CONICET scientists from the Argentine Deep Sea Studies Group (GEMPA) will once again explore the deep ocean during a new international scientific campaign aboard the Falkor (too) vessel, in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute (USA).

Continental Slope V mission
#

The Continental Slope V mission will primarily focus on exploring the Ameghino and Almirante Brown canyons, located off the coast of Chubut Province, approximately 600 kilometers from the shore. This is a little-explored region of the Southwest Atlantic, with high biodiversity potential and the presence of vulnerable marine ecosystems. The expedition will last 23 days and is scheduled to begin in April 2027, with the possibility of starting earlier, in February.

A specimen of Nephrops sp. is recorded in the submarine canyon of Mar del Plata, Argentina. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

“For us, it is a great joy to be able to return to working in the deep waters of our country. This campaign is called Continental Slope V, and that’s because it’s a continuation of a work plan that began back in 2011, when Pablo Penchaszadeh and Mariano Martinez focused on the Mar del Plata Canyon. Being able to work in a new and unexplored area maximizes the probability of finding species new to science, which is one of the main objectives of the campaign,” said Daniel Lauretta, a CONICET researcher at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (MACNBR, CONICET) and lead scientist for the Continental Slope IV and V campaigns.

Photo of the entire team that participated in the Continental Slope IV campaign. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

“In addition to the scientific excitement of discovering new environments and species, we also feel a great motivation to continue building capacities in the country, strengthening interdisciplinary work teams and generating information that can be useful for the conservation and management of the Argentine Sea,” added Martín Brogger, a CONICET researcher at the Institute of Biology of Marine Organisms (IBIOMAR, CENPAT, CONICET).

Continental Slope IV: a milestone in Argentine marine exploration
#

The research vessel R/V Falkor (too) hosted CONICET scientists during their expedition to the Mar del Plata Canyon, one of Argentina’s largest submarine canyons. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Between July 23 and August 11 of 2025, an expedition led by scientists from CONICET explored the deep ocean in the Mar del Plata submarine canyon—a region of high biodiversity and little-explored area of the South Atlantic—aboard the Falkor. During this expedition, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was used for the first time in the region, allowing scientists to capture ultra-high-definition images of the seabed at depths of up to almost 4,000 meters and collect samples without disturbing the environment.

The ROV SuBastian, a remotely operated vehicle by scientists aboard the R/V Falkor, whose images were broadcast live worldwide. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

*This historic campaign documented cold-water coral reefs, extensive fields of soft corals, and extraordinary biodiversity, including more than 40 potentially new species to science.

Furthermore, the expedition generated an unprecedented impact on public communication of science, with millions of views of live streams from the ocean floor. This experience brought scientific exploration closer to society and educational institutions at all levels, and consolidated a model of open science with strong public participation.

“Our scientific objectives for Continental Slope IV were ambitious: we wanted to leverage Falkor’s technology to conduct a major expedition. We also knew that the images of the seabed would be stunning and that this represented a unique opportunity to communicate what we do. Of course, we never imagined that the broadcast could have such an impact. The genuine wonder at each environment or animal we discovered was shared with thousands of people, especially children. Receiving so much interest in the deep ocean and its fauna was a wonderful experience that we will remember throughout our careers as researchers,” said Ignacio Chiesa, a CONICET researcher at the Austral Center for Scientific Research (CADIC, CONICET).

The ROV SuBastian in action: collecting coral samples at a depth of 2,606 meters on the north wall of the Mar del Plata submarine canyon. Credits: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

For Brogger, it was a very inspiring experience: “Scientific exploration often takes place far removed from society, especially when we’re talking about environments as remote as the deep ocean. Seeing millions of people following the dives live, asking questions, getting excited about the discoveries, and being part of the expedition in some way was very important for the entire team. It also showed that there is enormous interest in science and the ocean when information is shared openly and accessibly. For us, it was confirmation that public communication and open science have to be central to these kinds of expeditions,” the scientist explained.

Talud V: moving towards new frontiers
#

Building on this foundation, Continental Slope V aims to explore a new region of the Argentine continental margin, expanding knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems and continuing a line of research maintained for over a decade on the study of deep-sea fauna. One of its central objectives will be to explore depths exceeding 4,000 meters, extending the observation range achieved in previous expeditions and accessing environments not yet studied in Argentina.

Regarding the expectations surrounding the exploration of the Ameghino-Almirante Brown canyons, Lauretta noted that “submarine canyons are considered globally to be potential areas of high biodiversity, as they present a wide variety of environments in a relatively small area. Given the very limited time available on the vessel and the vast expanse of waters under national jurisdiction, we try to go to areas where we assume biodiversity is particularly high. In that sense, we have high expectations regarding the fauna we will find in the canyons. The deep zone of these canyons has not been studied from a biological perspective to date, so this will be the first time we will be able to see and study this fauna,” the scientist indicated. He adds that, on the one hand, they expect to find species they have already seen in the Mar del Plata canyon, but also many different species. “Part of the plan to study the fauna in the different canyons along the Argentine continental slope is to see how the fauna is distributed from north to south,” he explained.

The multidisciplinary GEMPA team, made up of researchers from various institutions across the country, will address: deep-sea biodiversity (invertebrates and fish); cold-water coral reefs and vulnerable habitats; environmental DNA (eDNA) and biological connectivity; oceanographic processes and sediment dynamics; and human impact in remote environments, including microplastics.

The Argentine Team
#

The group will consist of 19 scientists from Argentine institutions, mostly from CONICET, including the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (MACN, CONICET*), the Institute of Marine Organism Biology (IBIOMAR, CONICET), the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research (IIMyC, CONICET-UNMDP), the Institute of Biodiversity and Experimental and Applied Biology (IBBEA, UBA-CONICET), the Austral Center for Scientific Research (CADIC, CONICET), and the Institute of Animal Diversity and Ecology (IDEA, CONICET-UNC). Researchers from the National Universities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Plata, and Mar del Plata, as well as the Argentine Naval Prefecture, are also part of the group.

Studying the deep sea
#

The study of the sea is a crucial line of research for CONICET. It is a key area because Argentina has one of the richest and most productive marine regions in the world, with over one million square kilometers of submerged surface. This extension of the continental territory is linked to the biodiversity of natural environments, productivity, climate, and many other dimensions that ultimately influence, directly and indirectly, people’s quality of life.

This new expedition consolidates CONICET’s role in deep-sea exploration and strengthens research on biodiversity and vulnerable marine ecosystems. Continental Slope V represents an opportunity to continue discovering the biodiversity of the Argentine Sea, generate key information for its conservation, and reinforce the link between science and society.

“The deep ocean is one of the least explored environments on the planet, and in Argentina we still know very little about much of the biodiversity that inhabits these ecosystems. Studying the depths of the sea allows us to understand how these environments function, what species live there, how they connect with other ecosystems, and what role they play in global processes such as the carbon cycle or climate regulation,” said Brogger.

Technology, open science and participation
#

The expedition will once again utilize the ROV SuBastian, capable of exploring great depths with high-definition cameras and precision sampling systems. As in the previous campaign, the mission will include live broadcasts of the dives, open to the public; real-time educational activities with schools across the country; content creation for science outreach and education; and open access data publication in national and international repositories.

“These campaigns allow us to combine highly advanced technological capabilities with the scientific knowledge and experience of Argentine teams. Furthermore, they generate opportunities for training, international cooperation, and the development of new lines of research for researchers in the country. This type of partnership demonstrates the importance of international scientific cooperation for advancing our knowledge and conservation of the oceans,” the scientists stated.

In this regard, they emphasized that the collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute has been fundamental, not only for access to world-class infrastructure and technology, but also for the collaborative work model and open science promoted by the institution.

“We are very excited to be able to share with people again the diversity of the deep-sea wildlife that inhabits our country, and we are thinking about how to improve communication regarding what we did in the last campaign to reach as many people as possible,” Lauretta concluded.