2010 Gulf Scientific Cruise: The Lophelia II Expedition

The Details

Cruise Dates: October 24 – November 4, 2010 (Leg II of Cruise)
Location: Gulf of Mexico
Archaeological Team: Dan Warren, C&C Technologies,
Dr. Sheli Smith, PAST, &
Dr. Jack Irion, BOEMRE

The ProjectThe Lophelia II expedition is a multi-year project that explores the northern Gulf of Mexico looking at deepwater habitats for coral communities and the site formation processes of shipwrecks.  The 2010 expedition data collection builds on information gathered since 2008.  Understanding the connectivity between coral colonies and shipwrecks helps scientists predict other locations of coral within the Gulf of Mexico.

An additional project focus in 2010 will be to compare and contrast data gathered this year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to previous years.  Biologists and Archaeologists are very interested in the affects of the spill and dispersants used on the Gulf ecosystems.

Field Journal

Gulf Cruise Day 2 (October 28, 2010)

Gulf Cruise – Day 1 (October 27, 2010)

Gulf Cruise – Day 3 (October 31, 2010)

Partners