BREMERHAVEN, GERMANY — A group of researchers from a nonprofit research institute called Nekton is leading a three-year-expedition to explore the Indian Ocean, reports the Associated Press.
The team will leave the coast of Bremerhaven, Germany on January 25 on a diving vessel called the Ocean Zephyr headed to the Seychelles.
The Seychelles is an archipelago comprised of 115 islands with an exclusive economic zone that covers roughly 1.4 million square kilometers. The country has committed to protecting 30 percent of its national waters.
According to Nekton, the team will spend seven weeks mapping the ocean floor, studying underwater life and dropping sensors to depths of 2,000 meters in the waters surrounding the Seychelles.
The mission plans to conduct at least 50 first descents in areas around the islands. Their main objective is to gather data that will be used for environmental conservation.
The team will be providing live broadcasts of their descents using new subsea communication technologies. The mission's principal scientist, Lucy Woodall, stated: 'We expect to discover dozens of species new to science that could be anything from new corals, algae or sponges to larger more charismatic animals like dog-sharks.'
