“Atlantic Canyons” Study Team To Receive Excellence In Partnering Award At February 23 New Orleans Ceremony

02-18-2016

Contacts: Marjorie Weisskohl
202-615-7509

^{Yellow basket stars attached to bubblegum coral,
with Lophelia coral beneath.
Image courtesy of Deepwater Canyons 2013 -
Pathways to the Abyss, NOAA-OER/BOEM/USGS.}

Washington –The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) will present the 2015 Excellence in Partnering Award to 17 organizations involved in the Atlantic Canyons study during Ocean Sciences 2016 in New Orleans. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, February 23, from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (CST) at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 223.

This multi-year effort leveraged the resources of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 12 universities and research institutions, and two companies, to explore Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons about 60 miles offshore of Maryland and Virginia. The research findings are significant and depict a biologically rich region that had not been fully explored in the past, including historically important shipwrecks, extensive deep-sea coral communities, and a vast methane-seep ecosystem.

Scientists who conceived, managed and conducted this research will talk about their experience, followed by a screening of the 23-minute HD video produced as part of the project, “Atlantic Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss.” Other conference attendees are invited to attend.

For additional background, see www.boem.gov/press02042016/ and http://www.nopp.org/2016/2015-excellence-in-partnering-award-winner/.